Shaping Opinion

Bishop Joseph Strickland on Keeping the Faith

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Bishop Joseph Stirckland. He is a Roman Catholic Bishop, the Biship Emeritus of Tyler, Texas. He he’s the Chairman and the Founder of a nonprofit organization called Pillars of Faith.

He’s developed a reputation for taking strong, traditional positions, and that has put him in situations I’m sure he never imagined when he entered the clergy. We’re going to talk about that and much more in this episode.

Links:

* Pillars of Faith (website)

* Bishop Joseph Strickland (website)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Timothy Sandefur on Free Speech and Your Employer

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Timothy Sandefur. He is the vice president for legal affairs at the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

What I wanted to talk with Tim about was something he wrote about free speech and employers’ rights. More the point, does your employer have a right to free speech, and if so, how far does it reach?

Links:

* Defending the Free Speech Rights of Employers Against the Administrative State, Goldwater Institute Blog

* NLRB Limits Employer Speech, SHRM

* NLRB Restrains Employer Speech, Finds Captive-Audience Meetings Unlawful – Publications, Morgan Lewis

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Patrick Breyer on Proposed EU Surveillance of Private Messaging

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 04:15:00 GMT

Our guest today is Patrick Breyer. He is a self-described freedom fighter and a former member of the European Parliament. He served on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

I wanted to talk with Patrick about a newly proposed EU internet regulation, commonly known as chat control. Under this proposed legislation, users of apps would have to agree to allow the government to scan all their private and public messages as a matter of course.

Links:

* Patrick Breyer Website

* Chat Control: The EU’s CSAM Scanner Proposal (website)

* Patrick Breyer, EU Website

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Bunni Pounds on Free Speech from the Pulpit

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 04:17:00 GMT

Our guest is Bunni Pounds. She is the Founder and President of Christians Engaged as well as the Senior Vice President for Family Policy Alliance and Family Policy Alliance Foundation – both founded by Dr. James Dobson.

She is the author of the book Jesus and Politics: One Woman’s Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession. She was a political consultant for 16 years. And in 2018 she ran for Congress herself in 2018 but did not get elected.

What I wanted to talk with Bunni about was a new development that will affect every church in America. In July, the IRS decided that religious clergy can endorse political candidates from the pulpit or through their official church communications. This is a big deal, and our guest today has some thoughts.

Links:

* How Conservative Christians Cracked a 70-Year-Old Law, New York Times.

* Did the IRS Just Change Its Own Rule to Set Pastors Free?, The Stream

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Ingrid Jacques on Late Night TV

Tim O'Brien — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Ingrid Jacques. She is a columnist at USA Today.

She wrote a column recently about those late-night comedy shows. She argues that the reason Stephen Colbert got fired had everything to do with ratings and business issues. All of this points to larger problems with the whole genre of late-night comedy and those who produce the shows.

Links:

* Leno's right: Colbert got canned because Americans are tired of left's lectures, USA Today Opinion

* Late Night Ratings Revealed, TV Insider

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Jennifer Huddleston on AI, Free Speech and the First Amendment

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Jennifer Huddleston. She is a senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute.

In her work, she focuses on the law in relation to emerging technology. What caught my attention was something she wrote about the relationship between AI and the First Amendment. What happens when AI repurposes your words and images, your opinions and thoughts? That’s one question we’re going to talk to Jennifer about today. AI and the First Amendment. Freedom of speech and artificial intelligence.

Links:

* Is AI a Horse or a Zebra When It Comes to the First Amendment?, CATO Blog, By Jennifer Huddleston

* Is AI a Horse or a Zebra: Do AI Free Speech Concerns Require New Legal Tools?, Liberty University Paper

* CATO (website)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Dr. Carole Lieberman on Mass Psychology

Tim O'Brien — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 04:06:00 GMT

Our guest is Carole Lieberman. She is an accomplished psychiatrist and a forensic expert witness. Board certified in both psychiatry and neurology. She’s been a leading voice on the psychology of terrorism and its impact on people.

Today, we’ll be talking to Carole about psychological warfare, and how she thinks it may be used to divide Americans. Also, we’ll talk with Carole about what she describes as the emotional collapse of American leadership.

Links:

* Carole Lieberman (website)

* Coping with Terrorism, By Carole Lieberman, Ph.D. (Amazon)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Ari Paparo on Google's Digital Dominance

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Ari Paparo. He is the CEO of a company called Marketecture Media, which is a network of podcasts, newsletters and events covering the digital media sector. He is a writer, a podcaster and an expert on all forms of advertising. He worked in the ad business for 20 years. This included time spent at DoubleClick and Google. He is also the author of a new book called, “Yield. How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance.”

If you ever see an ad when you’re online, there’s a good chance one company – Google – is making some money off of that. And that doesn’t include the money they make from selling your data. That’s one thing we’re going to talk about today.

Links:

* Marketecture Media (website)

* This Deal Helped Turn Google Into an Ad Powerhouse. Is That a Problem? - The New York Times

* Google Ads

* DoubleClick

* Yield. How Google Bought, Built, and Bullied Its Way to Advertising Dominance., by Ari Paparo (Amazon)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Aaron Bandler on Bias at Wikipedia

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Aaron Bandler. He’s an investigative journalist who is based in the Bay Area. He’s written for several leading national news organizations.

In today’s interview, we’ll talk with Aaron about something he’s investigated and reported on after noticing a disturbing pattern at the ubiquitous website, Wikipedia.

Links:

* Taking Sides: Wikipedia Advances Anti-Israel Narratives | RealClearInvestigations

* Jewish News Syndicate (website)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

David Smokler on School Teachers and Free Speech

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is David Smokler. He’s the executive director of the K-12 Fairness Center, which is a division of an organization called StandWithUs. StandWithUs is a 24 year-old international nonpartisan education organization that fights antisemitism.

I wanted to talk to David about fee speech in the classroom. Just how much does the First Amendment protect what teachers say, or want to say in the classroom? And what happens if a teacher or student exercises their perceived right to free speech and it puts students or others at risk? These are just a couple of questions we’re going to cover.

Links:

* Teachers' unions are blurring personal activism and professionalism | The Jerusalem Post, By David Smokler

* StandWithUs Supporting Israel And Fighting Antisemitism (website)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Mark Joseph on Canada’s Censorship Push

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 04:16:00 GMT

Our guest is Mark Joseph. He is Litigation Director at a group in Canada called The Democracy Fund. It’s widely considered the leading voice in the battle for free speech in Canada.

I wanted to talk to Mark about a specific bill under consideration in Canada that would enable the spread of censorship and threaten free speech in that country. It’s called the Online Harms Bill.

Links:

* The Democracy Fund Website

* Online Harms Act (official site)

* Canada Eyes Revival of Online Censorship Bill (Reclaim The Net)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

David McGarry on European Online Censorship

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 04:15:00 GMT

Our guest is David McGarry. He is Research Director at an organization called the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. He is a pundit and a frequent contributor to magazines and news sites on a wide range of topics. He usually writes about things tied to technology, government accountability and consumer impact.

Lately, he’s been weighing in on a new law in Europe that seems targeted toward American companies and Americans online. It’s called the Digital Services Act.

The EU’s Digital Services Act (or DSA) was enacted in 2022 and just went into effect. It seeks to regulate online platforms by addressing illegal content, including hate speech and disinformation. How do you define hate speech and disinformation? That’s one of the things we’ll be talking about today.

The Digital Services Act applies to tech sites that have more than 45 million users in Europe. These sites include Twitter, or X, Meta, and Google. It requires them to conduct more comprehensive “content moderation, transparency in algorithms, and user tools to flag harmful content.”

Companies that don’t comply can be fined up 6% of their global revenue, or they may face bans in Europe.

Links:

* David McGarry at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (website)

* European Technology Policy Mistakes: Lessons for American Lawmakers | National Review by David McGarry

* The EU Wants to Censor the Global Market, Spiked

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Stacy Malkan on Propaganda in Public Health

Tim O'Brien and Stacy Malkan — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 04:16:00 GMT

What you don’t know can hurt you.

Our guest today is Stacy Malkan. She’s the co-founder and the managing editor at a nonprofit public health research group called, U.S. Right to Know. The group covers public health science, and it tracks industry lobbying efforts. She’s covered everything from how pesticides impact the foods you eat, to the health risks of the cosmetics you use.

Some links from this episode:

* U.S. Right to Know (website)

* AGRA - Sustainably Growing Africa's Food Systems (website)

* Alliance for Science (website)

* The Bill Gates Problem by Tim Schwab (book/Amazon)

* Gates Foundation (website)

* Merchants of Poison, by Stacy Malkan

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Greg Schlueter on the Culture of Victimhood

Tim O'Brien and Greg Schlueter — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 04:16:00 GMT

We are back after a long hiatus, and we’re ready to go!

As before, this is a video and an audio podcast. We’re on Substack at ShapingOpinion.com, YouTube, Rumble, and all of the audio channels, from Apple to Spotify.

If you watch, you’ll notice we have new digs. We’ve moved into the heartland of America and now have a more permanent “studio.” As for format, you’ll notice we’re familiar but streamlined. In terms of content, that’s going to be much more focused, too. But no need to elaborate here. Just stay tuned and the podcast will speak for itself. One thing you can be sure of is, “the guest is the thing.”

That said, our guest this week is Greg Schlueter. He’s an author, a radio host, a movement leader and an opinion writer who focuses on things like restoring faith, family and the culture. He’s the head of communications for the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership.

I read something he wrote recently and decided to invite him on the podcast to talk about the topic. That topic? The culture of victimhood.

Some links from the episode:

* Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, (Amazon)

* Institute of Constitutional Thought and Leadership

* Slaying the Giants in Your Life by David Jeremiah

* The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt (Amazon)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Zantac and Cancer, with Brent Wisner

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 04:11:00 GMT

One of the nation’s leading trial attorneys Brent Wisner talks about his role in current litigation against several big pharma companies who’ve all been manufacturers of the popular heartburn drug called Zantac, which has been taken off the market amidst concerns over possible cancer diagnoses. Brent is the managing partner and lead trial attorney at the law firm of Wisner Baum. He’s been recognized as one of America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers by Trial Lawyer Magazine. And he serves as co-lead trial counsel in the Zantac Products Liability Litigation in Delaware.

Chances are if you ever had a serious problem with heartburn, you might have taken a popular drug called Zantac. The generic form of the drug is called ranitidine

In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requested that manufacturers of the drug withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) ranitidine drugs from the market immediately. This was part of an ongoing investigation of a contaminant in ranitidine medications.

Fast forward to May of this year. That was when Pfizer, one of the manufacturers of Zantac, agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug. Still, this company and these lawsuits do not represent the entirety of the problem and the legal woes for manufacturers. That’s what we will be talking about today.

For more information, go to www.ShapingOpinion.com. This is also our Substack hub, where you can subscribe and become a member of our podcast family.

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Links from Our Conversation

Zantac Lawsuit Update: What you Need to Know About The Heartburn Medications, Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/product-liability/zantac-lawsuit/

Sanofi to Settle 4,000 Zantac Cancer Lawsuits in US State Courts, CNN – https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/05/business/sanofi-to-settle-zantac-cancer-lawsuits/index.html/

Zantac Not a cause of Woman’s Cancer, Jury Says in First Trial Over Drug, Reuters – https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/zantac-not-cause-womans-cancer-jury-says-first-trial-over-drug-2024-05-23/

Judge Appoints Four Attorneys to Lead 77,000 Zantac Cancer Cases in Delaware, PR Newswire – https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/judge-appoints-four-attorneys-to-lead-77-000-zantac-cancer-cases-in-delaware-301827346.html#:~:text=Judge%20Vivian%20L.,of%20the%20State%20of%20Delaware.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

ChatGPT is Bullshit, with Michael Hicks

Tim O'Brien and Michael Hicks — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 04:07:00 GMT

One of the co-authors of a groundbreaking academic paper, Michael Hicks, makes the case that “ChatGPT is bullshit.” That’s not only the title of his paper, but a compelling point of view that we dig deep into in this conversation. Michael is one of the three co-authors of the paper, along with James Humphries and Joe Slater. All three are educators at the University of Glasgow.

Michael Hicks is a Lecturer in Philosophy of Science and Technology at the University. He’s mostly interested in the ways we use scientific laws and models to understand what’s possible, and what isn’t. He says he also thinks about conditional reasoning, probability, and explanation.

For more information, go to www.ShapingOpinion.com. This is also our Substack hub, where you can subscribe and become a member of our podcast family.

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Links from Our Conversation

* ChatGPT is Bullshit, Springer Link - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5/

* Michael Townsen Hicks, website - https://www.townsenhicks.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Do Schools Care About Kids’ Safety Anymore?, with Mo Canady

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 04:06:00 GMT

The head of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), Mo Canady joins us to talk about a self-inflicted safety crisis at many American schools because school boards are terminating their in-school police presence. They are banning School Resource Officers, and more and more parents are outraged. Mo has been a member of NASRO’s board since 2005. And before that he held positions in law enforcement, and as an instructor for NASRO.

One of the more notable recent events is where a 17-year-old student at Garfield High School was shot and killed on June 6th in a school parking lot after trying to break up a fight between two other boys.

There is no way of knowing if the shooting could have been prevented, but one thing is clear. There was no police presence at the school. This after the Seattle School Board voted in 2020 to remove the position of School Resource Officer at the school. That district is one of roughly 70 in the country to do so.

In this episode, we talk about those School Resource Officers – or SROs - and the vital role they play in school communities.

For more information, go to www.ShapingOpinion.com. This is also our Substack hub, where you can subscribe and become a member of our podcast family.

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Links from Our Conversation

After Shooting, Seattle Parents Regret School Kicking Out Officers in 2020: “Who is protecting our babies?”, Fox News

Garfield High Used to Have a Cop, but Seattle Schools Canceled the Job, Seattle Times

Chicago Board of Education Unanimously Votes to End CPD Contract, Remove SROs, Police1

More School Districts are Bringing Back or Adding Police, USA Today

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Defeating Anxiety through Courage, with Janet Jackson Pellegrini

Tim O'Brien, Charlie, and Janet Jackson Pellegrini — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 04:08:00 GMT

If you suffer from anxiety, you may be given a lot of options. Drugs, illegal or legal. Alcohol. Therapy. But one thing most may not bring up to you is something that’s inside of you. Courage. In this episode, we talk with Janet Jackson Pellegrini, one of the authors of a new book called, “You Can Overcome Anything with Courage.” The book contains 17 different stories from 17 different people. Each shares his or her personal stories and life lessons that have one thing in common – they found the courage to overcome the challenges they faced. Janet tells her story of overcoming anxiety and solving a big life problem simply be reframing her brain after a single casual conversation.

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For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Links from Our Conversation

* You Can Overcome Anything with Courage (Amazon)

* Tambellini Restaurant Downtown Says Arrivederci! (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Don't Cancel the SAT, with April Bleske-Rechek

Tim O'Brien and April Bleske-Rechek — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:10:00 GMT

University professor and researcher April Bleske-Rechek makes her case for standardized testing in college admissions at a time when there’s an aggressive movement to get rid of the tests. She co-authored an article recently in Skeptic Magazine where they say the standardized tests are not biased, but are in fact more fair than other measures to gauge student potential.

April is a Professor, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she focuses on Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology. She has written for many peer-reviewed journals, and is an active member of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube:

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v51728f-dont-cancel-the-sat-with-april-bleske-rechek.html

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For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at:

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Links from Our Conversation

* Standardized Admission Tests Are Not Biased, Skeptic Magazine

* April Bleske-Rechek, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

How Private Companies Target & Censor You, with JP Messina

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 04:08:00 GMT

Author and university professor JP Messina talks about how private companies and others have emerged as the new censors in society. JP wrote the new book called, “Private Censorship.” In it, he describes a new kind of censorship where there are no government-sanctioned book burnings, no prosecutions, no laws or committees. In fact, the state doesn’t publicly appear to be involved at all.

Instead, the censors are social groups, employers, media companies, social media platforms and search engines, many seemingly working in concert, deciding which speech is censored and which is not.

But perhaps more concerning, certain government agencies may have found a way to decide (by proxy) what speech is censored and what private citizens get de-platformed.

When he’s not writing books and for journals, JP is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Purdue. He teaches courses on political and moral philosophy, ethics, and the history of practical philosophy.

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/5Hst9SxovG8

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v50v0y3-how-private-companies-target-and-censor-you-with-jp-messina.html

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For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Links from Our Conversation

Private Censorship, (Amazon)

JP Messina (Substack page)

Public; the Substack of Michael Shellenberger

The Free Press; the Substack of Bari Weiss

Racket News; the Substack of Matt Taibbi

NRA v. Vullo (Supreme Court Case)

Missouri v. Biden (Supreme Court Case)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Why is School Choice Gaining Traction?, with Patrick Wolf

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:16:04 GMT

Patrick Wolf joins Tim to shed light on why school choice is exploding across the country. The list of states passing or pursuing legislation for more school choice is on the rise weekly. Patrick has long been at the forefront on the issue of school choice. He talks about the impact on the pandemic, which he says revealed a lot to parents about their kids’ public school education.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Why_is_School_Choice_Gaining_Traction_auphonic.mp3

He is a Distinguished Professor of Education Policy. He is the 21st Century Endowed Chair, in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform, at the University of Arkansas, College of Education and Health Professions. Before this, he taught at Columbia and at Georgetown University, and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution. As principal investigator of the School Choice Demonstration Project, Patrick has led evaluations of school voucher programs in Washington, DC; Milwaukee, WI; and the state of Louisiana.

He's conducted research and written several books on the topic.

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/R4mdSHsKLGg

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4wt412-why-is-school-choice-gaining-traction-with-patrick-wolf.html

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Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

The School Choice Journey: School vouchers and the empowerment of urban families - https://www.amazon.com/School-Choice-Journey-Empowerment-Education-ebook/dp/B00NC4R2PC/ref=sr_1_3?crid=V8YLH6HF42KP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iThj9m-00wFy3kVNwYRhl0D0a8JbE3NW37S4XgKBZ9282Et9TGRuMFwTFmnBxDUOzrJ_QxkSg0m9HT_pfjHwJ5__iasBX8YusToQEBkH5gk.1sqNy9r2NnYjV5XWCDtBVtY3BQGW3UqKWNcOBv0i7l0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Patrick+Wolf+School+Choice&qid=1716403008&s=books&sprefix=patrick+wolf+school+choice%2Cstripbooks%2C116&sr=1-3
The Public Purposes of Private Education: a Civic-Outcomes Meta-Analysis - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-024-09874-1
School Choice in the States 2024 – EdChoice - https://www.edchoice.org/engage/school-choice-in-the-states-april-2024/
Denisha Allen, American Federation for Children - https://www.federationforchildren.org/staff/denisha-allen/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Why School Choice is Gaining Traction

Tim O'Brien and Patrick J. Wolf — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:14:00 GMT

He talks about the impact on the pandemic, which he says revealed a lot to parents about their kids’ public school education. He is a Distinguished Professor of Education Policy. He is the 21st Century Endowed Chair, in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform, at the University of Arkansas, College of Education and Health Professions. Before this, he taught at Columbia and at Georgetown University, and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution.

As principal investigator of the School Choice Demonstration Project, Patrick has led evaluations of school voucher programs in Washington, DC; Milwaukee, WI; and the state of Louisiana. He has conducted research and written several books on the topic.

If you’re not already, please make sure to subscribe to the Shaping Opinion podcast wherever you get your podcasts, now including YouTube and Rumble!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Bursting the Overpopulation Myth

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:32:50 GMT

#overpopulation #demographics #economy #economics

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Why Isn't ESG Living Up to the Hype?

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:07:07 GMT

#ESG #ESGinvesting #Investing #stockmarket #WallStreet #CSR #DEI

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

What's Going On with Vatican Art?

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 18:53:40 GMT

#art #thevatican #vatican #Catholic #CatholicChurch

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Are Doctors Overmedicating Kids?

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 18:13:10 GMT

#addiction #overmedicating #antideppresants #pharma #medicine

#mentalhealth #psychiatry #anxiety #psychology

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Is Cancel Culture Killing Comedy?

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 18:03:16 GMT

Author and crisis manager Evan Nierman joins Tim O’Brien to talk about cancel culture and its attacks on comedians and comedy in general. Will it kill comedy as we know it? And how can you defend yourself if the “cancel vultures” attack? Evan is the author of "The Cancel Culture Curse: From Rage to Redemption in a World Gone Mad."

#cancelculture #comedy #entertainment #crisiscommunications #crisismanagement

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Parents of School Shooter Convicted

Tim O'Brien — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 17:40:42 GMT

Attorney Mark Chutkow joins Tim O’Brien to talk about a rare case where the parents of a mass shooter are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison. Is this a one-off or a sign of things to come? That’s just one of the questions we discuss.

#massshooter #schoolshooter #thelaw #crime

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Bursting the Overpopulation Myth, with Marian Tupy

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 04:16:10 GMT

Marian Tupy joins Tim to burst the myth that the world is overpopulated. Through his work, he has demonstrated that as the world’s population has grown, humankind has actually become more abundant. Marian is the founder and editor of HumanProgress.org, and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at the Cato Institute. He is the coauthor of: The Simon Abundance Index, Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting, and Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Marian_Tupy_Interview_auphonic.mp3

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/yyxWWDkbdck

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4u8jxw-bursting-the-overpopulation-myth-with-marian-tupy.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.

Links from Our Conversation:

HumanProgress.org – https://humanprogress.org
Marian Tupy, Cato Institute – https://www.cato.org/people/marian-l-tupy
Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet, Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Superabundance-Population-Innovation-Flourishing-Infinitely/dp/1952223393/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LA5I10BFSH2J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.n2d_vjnwl9rz1t1YWR2Dv0i4zh5fWgUkXZSRVG8fX6JrMK6l8B-KNVfMFr8Nq6YVf-ko06gV6sqBhsUAvbp3d6WSyEsVbdVG_FDAlReTy0KC7npPru28e8xLW7qcpL1GKIratT2TM-k-vtAdwHomOJzZjzEAEqdb7JazmMP_djsPkz_gEO795XnSYu8Bx9ug12B4H4982n8CDJM73Z15eev-QqM0GKhT7QkYOj1vtzc.t_HJvrvGkySzcfhFB1ABmtN5rZWDLGHdRFw_5jijVwQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=superabundance&qid=1715299541&sprefix=superab%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-1
Julian Simon Was Right: A Half‐Century of Population Growth, Increasing Prosperity, and Falling Commodity Prices, Cato Institute – https://www.cato.org/economic-development-bulletin/julian-simon-was-right-half-century-population-growth-increasing

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Why Isn’t ESG Living Up to the Hype?, with Sanjai Bhagat

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 04:16:37 GMT

Author and university professor Sanjai Bhagat joins Tim to talk about his research findings on ESG investing and what he calls “an inconvenient truth” about it. According to Sanjai, ESG investing is simply not living up to the hype, and he knows why. If your retirement funds are invested in ESG funds, or if your financial advisor wants you to invest in ESG funds, you need to listen to Sanjai.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/ESG_Audio_Podcast_auphonic.mp3

Sanjai Bhagat is Provost Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado, and he’s the author of the book, “Financial Crisis, Corporate Governance, and Bank Capital.” But what caught my attention was something he wrote for the Harvard Business Review. In March of 2022, he wrote an article entitled, “An Inconvenient Truth About ESG Investing.”

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/i5MZc569a98/

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4tuoor-why-isnt-esg-living-up-to-the-hype-with-sanjai-bhagat.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

An Inconvenient Truth About ESG Investing, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2022/03/an-inconvenient-truth-about-esg-investing/
Sanjai Bhagat, Ph.D., on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjaibhagat/
Why Do ESG Funds Underperform? https://ssrn.com/abstract=3725828
Companies that Issue Green Bonds Do Not Lower Their Carbon Emissions - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4492883/
U.S. Carmakers EV Plans Hinge on Batteries, Wall Street Journal - https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-car-makers-ev-plans-hinge-on-made-in-america-batteries-11675640784?page=1
Should the U.S. Courts Allow the SEC to Enforce Mandates to Disclose Compliance with Climate Goals, Columbia Business School Paper - http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3800193

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

What is Going On with Vatican Art?, with Eric Armusik

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 27 May 2024 04:16:11 GMT

Catholic artist Eric Armusik joins Tim to talk about the current trend at the Vatican to embrace ugly art at the expense of so much beauty it could showcase. Eric paints classical figurative art. His work is reminiscent of the old masters. His works are inspired by grand and vivid murals that he first saw in Gothic cathedrals as a child. But what caught my attention was a social media post from Eric that highlighted something we all may have noticed but may not have thought much about, which is how the Vatican seems to have gotten away from this sort of beauty and realism in its own art.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Vatican_Art_II_auphonic.mp3

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/St9f7UwZe3U

Check out this FULL EPISODE on Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4u5wll-whats-going-on-with-vatican-art-with-eric-armusik.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

Erik Armusik’s Website - https://www.ericarmusik.com
Vatican Proud of Ugly Sculpture in Audience Hall - https://www.oliverduerr.de/en/society/vatikan-zeigt-sich-stolz-auf-haessliche-skulptur-in-audienzhalle/
Contemporary Catholic Art Doesn’t Have to be Ugly. Just look at this new cathedral, Catholic Herald - https://catholicherald.co.uk/contemporary-catholic-art-doesnt-have-to-be-ugly-just-look-at-this-new-cathedral/
The Vatican’s Cosmic Nativity Scene, Tradition in Action - https://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A915-Pre.htm
Pope Welcomes Artists, Including Andres Serrano, Artnet - https://news.artnet.com/art-world/pope-francis-artists-andres-serrano-vatican-2328251

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Are Doctors Overmedicating Kids?, with Brooke Siem

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 20 May 2024 04:16:46 GMT

Author, writer and advocate Brooke Siem joins Tim to talk about her own experience with doctors prescribing anti-depressants to long-term negative effects. Brooke is an advocate for the practice of safe de-prescribing for psychiatric drugs. In 2022, she published a memoir on her own struggles with antidepressant withdrawal. The title of that book is called, “May Cause Side Effects.”

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Are_Doctors_Overmedicating_Kids_with_Brooke_Siem_auphonic.mp3

Brooke is also a chef who co-founded New York City’s Prohibition Bakery in 2011, and in 2017 she was crowned a Food Network “Chopped” Champion. She tells a behind-the-scenes story that illustrates her struggles with anti-depressant withdrawal.

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/VWyBFtVnmDc

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4t4il3-are-doctors-overmedicating-kids-with-brooke-siem.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

May Cause Side Effects: A Memoir: Siem, Brooke: 9781949481891: Amazon.com: Books
Brooke Siem - Brooke Siem Brooke Siem
Learn Happy Substack: www.brookesiem.substack.com
Brooke Siem: What This Famous Chopped Winner Is Doing Now (mashed.com)
What I wish I had known before I stopped taking antidepressants, and before I started - Washington Examiner
Why we should stop casually prescribing antidepressants to teens (nypost.com)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Is Cancel Culture Killing Comedy?, with Evan Nierman

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 13 May 2024 04:16:04 GMT

Author and crisis manager Evan Nierman joins Tim O’Brien to talk about cancel culture and its attacks on comedians and comedy in general. Will it kill comedy as we know it? And how can you defend yourself if the “cancel vultures” attack?

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Cancel_Culture_Raw_Audio.mp3

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: Is Cancel Culture Killing Comedy?, with Evan Nierman (youtube.com)

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4sxg5i-is-cancel-culture-killing-comedy-with-evan-nierman.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

For all episodes and to learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

Amazon.com: The Cancel Culture Curse: From Rage to Redemption in a World Gone Mad: 9781510777194: Nierman, Evan, Sachs, Mark: Books
Cancel culture is no laughing matter: Comedy on the edge | The Hill
Jerry Seinfeld slams political correctness, extreme left for ruining comedy (smh.com.au)
Bari Weiss and Her Resignation from the New York Times - Resignation Letter — Bari Weiss

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Unprecedented: Parents of Mass Shooter Convicted, with Attorney Mark Chutkow

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 06 May 2024 04:16:12 GMT

Attorney Mark Chutkow joins Tim O’Brien to talk about an unprecedented case where the parents of a mass shooter are prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison. Is this a one-off or a sign of things to come? That’s just one of the questions we discuss.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Parents_of_School_Shooter_Convicted_auphonic.mp3

Check out this FULL EPISODE at YouTube: https://youtu.be/LIgv_NK9PL4

Check out this FULL EPISODE at Rumble: https://rumble.com/v4s33lo-unprecedented-parents-of-mass-shooter-convicted-with-attorney-mark-chutkow.html

LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos as soon as they are posted: https://www.youtube.com/@shapingopinion/videos

Stay up to date by signing up for the Shaping Opinion Substack here: https://shapingopinion.substack.co

Find the full audio show wherever you get your podcasts: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shaping-opinion/id1371714253 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6yOg769bSm9hJn9zhwkunl

Learn more about Shaping Opinion at: https://shapingopinion.com

Follow the Shaping Opinion Podcast on all social platforms: Twitter/X - @Shaping Opinion, Instagram - @Shaping Opinion, on Facebook at Shaping Opinion and don’t forget to join the “Shaping Opinion Podcast Listeners” Group on Facebook.
Links from Our Conversation:

Mark Chutkow - https://www.dykema.com/people/mark-chutkow.html
Michigan School Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison without Parole - https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/ethan-crumbley-sentencing-oxford-shooting-12-08-23/index.html
Michigan School Shooter’s Parents Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison - https://apnews.com/article/james-crumbley-jennifer-crumbley-oxford-school-shooting-e5888f615c76c3b26153c34dc36d5436

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Preview: Shaping Opinion 2.0

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 04:16:14 GMT

If you follow us on social media or have subscribed to our new Substack page you may already know we’ve been on hiatus in recent months. Most of the episodes you have heard since the start of the New Year have been encore episodes.

Today, we have some good news. Starting next week, you will be seeing and hearing Shaping Opinion 2.0!

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Preview_-_Shaping_Opinion_2.0.mp3

We’ve used the last few months to revisit every aspect of the podcast and make improvements.

For background, we started the Shaping Opinion podcast in March 2018 when podcasting was just hitting its stride as a popular new sensation. The big commercial companies had started to pay attention, but at that time, independent podcast producers like us dominated. There were well less than 500,000 podcasts in the world, and almost all of them were audio in nature.

In short, it wasn’t as hard then to make a dent as it is now. As a result, we experienced some immediate interest in what we were offering, and steady audience growth over the years. In the process, we released roughly 300 original episodes that have won us awards, attracted listeners from all over the world, but mostly in the U.S., and a few listeners who you might even consider celebrities.

My favorite feedback, though, has been from individual guests. Almost every guest has been glad he or she participated. Consistently, they have told me they enjoyed the interview experience. They have appreciated that we do our homework and don’t just ask the “typical” questions. It’s a conversation that they themselves have tended to see as a break from the grind of doing the same-old media interviews.

Tim O'Brien

If you were to ask me, though, what was the focus of the Shaping Opinion podcast, my answer would have been much different in 2018 than it is now. Back then, I envisioned it being a true-crime type of podcast only focusing on big, historic PR events. I found out pretty quickly you can’t do a weekly podcast on that. So, we expanded our focus.

The tagline, which was fitting, was, “We talk about people, events and things that shape the way we think.” And we did, broadly speaking.

In the process, we found ourselves talking about such a range of topics week after week, that our audience would come and go by topic. If we interviewed NFL Hall of Famer Larry Czonka one week, we may have gotten thousands and thousands of new listeners who are football fans. But they went away the next week when we interviewed someone else who had nothing to do with sports.

This pattern has repeated itself throughout the life of the podcast.

At the same time, the podcasting landscape has changed. Major commercial enterprises have entered the podcasting space and have dominated it while further growing it into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Along with that, they made the video format almost a requirement. Ironically, independent podcasts have continued to drive the industry’s growth as well. There are now well over one million podcasts available for free to the growing world of podcast listeners.

Those listeners have so many options, they seek clarity. They want to know where your podcast fits, what it offers. Today’s podcast listener, unlike the listener of 2018, wants to know up front where we fit in the larger mosaic of podcasts.

And that is where we started as we conducted an analysis of what the Shaping Opinion Podcast must be, and what it will be going forward.

And now here we are. Next Monday marks a new day for the Shaping Opinion Podcast.

Here’s what you’ll notice first.

We’ll be on video! You will find the Shaping Opinion podcast on YouTube and Rumble, and you can get to it through our own episode pages at ShapingOpinion.com.

We have changed the format. It’s much tighter, and episodes will be shorter (30-45 minutes).

Our interviews will still be one-on-one, deep dive conversations as you’re used to.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: What They Won’t Tell You About Socialism

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 04:16:39 GMT

Economist, professor and author Paul Rubin joins Tim to talk about the impact of socialism on the future, particularly among young people who tend to be the most supportive of it, but who stand to lose the most because of it. This is the focus of his new book called, “A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives.” This episode was first released January 4, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/157_-_What_They_Wont_Tell_You_About_Socialism.mp3

If you want to see where socialism has been tried and failed, you don’t have to look far. Venezuela is one current-day example. The country sits on one of the world’s largest deposits of oil, yet people in that country have to wait in long lines for gas, the prices for gas are high and the quality of life is among the lowest in the world.

Or, you could look toward history, from the Soviet Union, to Cuba, to countries from Eastern Europe to South America and Africa. The examples of socialist failure are many. But if you look for examples of where socialism has been successful, you can look, but you won’t find many if any.

The effects of socialism aren’t just a poor standard of living, but massive human misery, that history has shown, has led to the establishment of dictators and small rich oligarchies who rule the masses under the thumb of socialism.

At the same time, the concepts of socialism have long had a certain appeal to young people and oppressed peoples. Socialism has a certain seductive quality for some.

Paul Rubin has spent decades teaching young generations about basic economic principles, and has spent no small amount of time educating young people on the risks of socialism.
Links

A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives, by Paul Rubin (Amazon)
Paul Rubin, The Independent Institute
How are socialism and communism different?, History.com
Capitalism v. Socialism, PragerU.com

About this Episode’s Guest Paul Rubin
Paul H. Rubin is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Emeritus in the Economics Department of Emory University and a former Professor of Law and Economics at the School of Law. He served as editor-in-chief of Managerial and Decision Economics. In addition, he is associated with the Mont Peleron Society, the Independent Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute, and a Fellow of the Public Choice Society and former President of the Southern Economics Association. Professor Rubin was Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, Chief Economist at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Director of Advertising Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, and Vice-President of Glassman-Oliver Economic Consultants, Inc., a litigation consulting firm in Washington. He has taught economics at the University of Georgia, City University of New York, VPI, and law and economics at George Washington University Law School. Professor Rubin has written or edited several books, and has published over one hundred articles and chapters on economics, law, and regulation.

Much of Professor Rubin’s writing is in law and economics, with a focus on tort, crime and contract issues. His areas of research interest include law and economics, industrial organization, transaction cost economics, government and business, public choice, regulation and price theory, and evolution and economics. His work has been cited in the professional literature over 11,100 times. He has consulted widely on litigation related matters, and has addressed numerous business, professional, policy and academic audiences. He has testified three times before Congress, and has served as an advisor on tort issues to the Congressional Budget Office.

Professor Rubin is the author of the well-known paper “Why Is the Common Law efficient?” Journal of Legal Studies, 1977, which has been reprinted eight times, in English, Spanish and French.

B.A. 1963,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

1979: City of Champions

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 04:16:57 GMT

This is a Special Edition of the Shaping Opinion Podcast called “1979: City of Champions.” In this extended episode (90 minutes), we take you to when Pittsburgh became the “City of Champions,” and how its impact went well beyond the field, or just baseball or football fans. In the end, it’s about what sports can do to bolster an entire people who are going through hard times. Guests include: Kent Tekulve, Joe Gordon, Lanny Frattare, Michael MacCambridge, John Steigerwald and Walter Iooss, Jr. This is the story of Pittsburgh, City of Champions, like you've never heard it before.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Full_Episode_-_City_of_Champions_auphonic.mp3

In this episode, we start with a group of Pittsburgh steelworkers who are standing around waiting for the arrival of two Pittsburgh sports icons. They stand in the cold and drafty Jones and Laughlin steel mill along the banks of the Monongahela River. The smoke stack above their building belches out thick black smoke. The stack next to it literally belches out fire. The air around the mill is thick with the smell of burning sulfur. If you’re one of the kids at the playground on the bluff above that mill in South Oakland, you’re at eye level with the top of those stacks and you can see that fire. You can see that smoke pouring out, and the air smells like rotten eggs. You can’t avoid it.

Down below, the guests of honor have arrived. They are both co-honorees - named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsmen of the Year. Willie Stargell of the World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and Terry Bradshaw, of the three-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. About 15 steelworkers, clad in their green and gray mill uniforms, where hard hats and safety glasses, and they crowd around Stargell and Bradshaw, who are in their own work uniforms.

Instantly, these tough and grizzled veterans of the mill become boyish football fans when the two baseball and football stars come in. Not much is getting done around the mill right now.

With them is another legend. The photographer. But not just any photographer. He’s a GOAT in his own right. Walter Iooss, Jr. is Sports Illustrated’s best ever. Ever see that photo of Joe Namath predicting a Jets Super Bowl win at pool side? That was Walter. What about the shot of Joe Montana throwing to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship game, the one they called, “The Catch?” That was Walter, too. From Tiger Woods to Michael Jordan, to the iconic Swimsuit editions. If you can conjure up an iconic sports or swimsuit image in your mind, there’s a good chance Walter captured it for you.

And here he is, lighting the floor of a steel mill to take a shot that would soon become iconic in its own right. Willie Stargell in his World Series champion uniform. Gold shirt with black pants. Next to him, Terry Bradshaw in his Super Bowl champion uniform, that classic black shirt with boxed numbers and gold pants. Surrounding them are those steelworkers.

Walter told me there really wasn’t much to setting up the shot, but what it stood for, well, that was something else.

Welcome to 1979 and Pittsburgh, The City of Champions.

In this episode we take you through, chronologically, the year Pittsburgh became the City of Champions, along with stories, insights, and what it all came to mean.
Guests

Lanny Frattare
Joe Gordon
Walter Iooss, Jr.
John Steigerwald
Kent Tekulve
Michael MacCambridge

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated and Walter Iooss, Jr.
Links

Two Champs from the “City of Champions,” Sports Illustrated
1979 Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL.com
1979 World Series, MLB.com
Kent Tekulve, MLB.com
Steelers PR Maven Honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jewish Chronicle
Rise of the Steelers, American Football Database
Lanny Frattare, Waynesburg University
The John Steigerwald Show, AM1250 “The Answer”
Walter Iooss, Jr., His Website
Michael MacCambridge, His Author Website

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: She Spied on the Germans in WWII

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 04:16:41 GMT

Julia Parsons joins Tim to talk about her role as a code-breaker during World War II. Julia was part of a a team of Navy women stationed in Washington, D.C. during World War II who worked to decipher German submarine messages that were sent in secret code using the Enigma machine. Her work relied on the now legendary Bombe machine invented by Alan Turing. This episode was originally released on July 22, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/339_-_WWII_-_Cracking_the_Enigma_Code.mp3

If you’ve ever seen the motion picture The Imitation Game, you would be familiar with the story of Alan Turing and his highly secretive and revolutionary work during World War II.

If you have seen that movie, it may give you a greater sense of what Julia Parsons, this episode’s guest, did in her own way to help the Allies defeat the Nazis.

Not long after the war started, German submarines were sinking more ships than the United States could replace. During 1942, German subs patrolled just off America’s Atlantic coast. Under the cover of darkness, they would torpedo ships that were silhouetted against the city lights in the background.

In the open water, German U-boats would operate in packs and sink entire convoys in coordinated attacks.

If a U-boat spotted a convoy, the German skipper would communicate with other U-boats nearby using a complex machine that sent coded messages that only other U-boats could decipher using the same machine. Then they would converge like a pack of wolves and attack allied ships. The goal was to cut off England’s supply line from the United States.

The machine that the German military used to create that secret code was called the Enigma. Enigma was so sophisticated it was thought impossible to crack.

The entire secret language the machine used changed completely every 24 hours. So, even if you were to crack the code of the machine today, you would have to start all over again tomorrow.

Both the Americans and the British were working hard on both sides of the Atlantic to crack the German military’s secret code.

In England, British Intelligence put together a team of their greatest minds and set about trying to solve the Enigma code. Alan Turing, young a mathematical genius, ran his own group as part of that effort, which would somehow find a way to crack the Enigma code.

In the process, he and his team created a new machine. Turing had realized that human beings alone could not analyze the vast amounts of data required every 24 hours to solve the Enigma problem each day. They needed a machine that was equally sophisticated at unlocking the Enigma code.

The machine Turing’s team invented was known as the Bombe, and not only would it crack the Enigma code, shortening World War II by two or three years and saving countless lives, but it would also launch the modern era of computing.

Thanks to the Bombe machine, the Allies could read German communications and gain a strategic military advantage in the field. German U-boats were neutralized. Allied ships were steered away from U-boats and kept safe.

In December 1942, Turing went to the United States to share what he knew about Enigma, along with his own solutions, with the U.S. military.

Meanwhile, the U.S. had its own code-cracking team.

Within that larger U.S. effort, Julia Parsons was on a team of Navy women who worked to decipher German U-boat messages sent by the Enigma machine.

In the Naval Communications Annex on Nebraska Avenue, thousands of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services) worked in three shifts to break the codes the Germans used in Europe and on the Atlantic, and by the Japanese in the Pacific.
Links

How Alan Turing Cracked the Enigma Code, The Imperial War Museums
Overlooked No More: Alan Turing, Condemned Code Breaker and Computer Visionary, New York Times
Germans Unleash U-boats, History.com
How Did the Enigma Machine Work? The Guardian

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: CNN’s Aaron Brown Tells His 9/11 Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 04:16:05 GMT

Former CNN lead news anchor Aaron Brown joins Tim to tell his story from September 11, 2001, where he brought the event to 1.4 billion viewers around the world, live as it happened. It was Aaron Brown on that day, standing on a rooftop in New York City, bringing us one of the most historic and tragic moments of our generation in real time. This episode is part of our special series, “9/11: A Generation Removed.” This episode was originally released on September 7, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/338_-_911_-_A_Network_Anchor_Story_at_20.mp3

If you remember September 11, 2001, you remember how you learned of the terrorist attacks of that day. If you weren’t in New York City, or at the Pentagon, or in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, chances are you remember getting the news from a friend, or a coworker, or a family member, and then you turned on the TV.

I’ll tell you what I did. I was in a meeting in a building just next to the Pittsburgh airport. We could hear and feel the roar of jet engines nonstop as they came in, one after the other to land. This was not normal. I remember telling the person I was with that it reminded me of jets landing on an aircraft carrier.

Minutes later, someone came into the room and told us that all flights were grounded, so if anyone had a plane to catch, they were out of luck. That a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and that was all they knew.

My meeting was over, so I went out to my car, and that was my first chance to get the news. I heard it on the radio. Then I went home and spent the rest of that day glued to the television, flipping channels, just like most Americans and people around the world.

While the Internet was extremely influential, television was the thing.

Most everyone in America still got most of their breaking news from one of the three broadcast networks or CNN, or the radio. Newspapers would follow the next day with in-depth reporting. News websites sort of filled in where broadcast and print couldn’t. It all worked together to give you the best picture of events as possible.

On September 11th, most watched on television. Tragic, scary, puzzling, angering, confusing, and live.

Live coverage removed the filter, it removed the buffer. Journalists were seeing events unfold with us. And so were decision-makers, from the White House to the Pentagon to air traffic controllers and first responders. If you weren’t on site, you were watching a TV monitor.

Yet still, it was the job of a few reporters to try to make sense of it all with us and for us.

Aaron Brown was the face and the voice of CNN on that day. He was the cable network’s lead anchor, newly minted, having just arrived from ABC. He was one of a handful of people, that the world relied on to try to understand what we were all seeing. To verify what we were all hearing. To know what was actually happening.
Links

Aaron Brown Joining Walter Cronkite School, Adweek
On the 15th Anniversary, what it was like to anchor 9/11, CNN
The Face of 9/11, HuffPost

About 9/11: A Generation Removed
On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021. The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
About this Episode’s Guest Aaron Brown

Aaron Brown circa 2001

Aaron Brown is an American journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11 attacks on CNN. He was a longtime reporter for ABC,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Free Speech is the Most Basic Human Right

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 04:16:41 GMT

Author and professor Eric Heinze joins Tim to talk about freedom of speech and expression at the most fundamental level. He recently wrote a book on free speech, but it’s not exactly what you might expect. He explores free speech in a larger more fundamental context than America’s First Amendment. He talks about it in the context of universal human rights. Eric tells us about the thinking behind his new book called, “The Most Human Right: Why Free Speech is Everything.” This episode was originally released May 9, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/337_-_Eric_Heinze_Free_Speech.mp3

One of the benefits of having a podcast is that you get the chance to talk to a diverse set of really smart and interesting people. Sometimes those people write books, and that’s the case with our guest today.

As mentioned, the book Eric Heinze wrote is about free speech and human rights. Eric is a professor of law and humanities at Queen Mary University of London.

In his book, he asks questions like, “What are human rights?” “Are they laid out definitively in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the U.S. Bill of Rights?” Or, are they just items on a checklist, like a good standard of living, housing, dignity?

That’s how Eric frames his new book. But what caught my attention when reading the book is how deep he really goes on this topic. He doesn’t flinch when he takes the stance that when global human rights programs fail, it is often the result of people being denied one basic human right – freedom of speech.
Links

Eric Heinze: Queen Mary University of London
“The Most Human Right: Why Free Speech is Everything,” by Eric Heinze (Amazon)

About this Episode’s Guest Eric Heinze
After completing studies in Paris, Berlin, Boston, and Leiden, Eric Heinze worked with the International Commission of Jurists and UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva, and on private litigation before the United Nations Administrative Tribunal in New York. He conducts lectures and interviews internationally in English, French, German, and Dutch, and is a member of the Bars of New York and Massachusetts, and has also advised NGOs on human rights, including Liberty, Amnesty International and the Media Diversity Institute. He has recently served as Project Leader for the four nation EU (HERA) consortium Memory Laws in European and Comparative Perspective (MELA). His prior awards and fellowships have included a Fulbright Fellowship, a French Government (Chateaubriand) Fellowship, a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) fellowship, a Nuffield Foundation Grant, an Obermann Fellowship (Center for Advanced Studies, University of Iowa), and several Harvard University Fellowships, including a Sheldon grant, an Andres Public Interest grant, and a C. Clyde Ferguson Human Rights Fellowship.

Heinze co-founded and currently directs Queen Mary’s Centre for Law, Democracy, and Society (CLDS). His opinion pieces have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Independent, Times Higher Education, Aeon, The Raw Story, openDemocracy, Speakers’ Corner Trust, Quillette, The Conversation, Left Foot Forward, Eurozine, and other publications, and he has done television, radio and press interviews for media in Denmark, Brazil, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, the UK and the US. He serves on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Human Rights, the University of Bologna Law Review and the British Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Heinze recently completed The Most Human Right for MIT Press. His other books include Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship (Oxford University Press, 2016), The Concept of Injustice (Routledge 2013), The Logic of Constitutional Rights (Ashgate 2005; Routledge 2017); The Logic of Liberal Rights (Ashgate 2003; Routledge 2017); The Logic of Equality (Ashgate 2003; Routledge 2019), Sexual Orientation: A Human Right (Nijhoff 1995),

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story of a MOTH Storyteller

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 04:16:53 GMT

Storyteller Margot Leitman joins Tim to talk about the art of storytelling, and how you can be a better storyteller. Margot is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker and teacher and a Moth Storytelling “GrandSlam” winner. This episode was originally released January 17, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/222_-_Margot_Leitman_Storyteller_auphonic.mp3

If you’re a regular podcast listener, there is a good chance you heard about a group called The Moth. It’s a nonprofit group based in New York City that’s dedicated to the art and craft of live storytelling.

The organization was founded in 1997 and now hosts storytelling events across the United States. Storytellers are from all walks of life, and each one takes the stage to tell a personal story, and each has a chance to have that story and the performance of telling it ranked.

The Moth has branched out into more than simply live events. The Moth podcast is one of the most popular podcasts in the medium.

Some Moth storytellers can become champion storytellers. Its published books on storytelling, and it hosts other events.

If you have the chance to tell your story on a Moth stage, you could become a Champion. Some of the best storytelling performers are recognized as Moth Grandslam Champions.

Our guest today is one of those champions.

Margot Leitman is an author who has written books about storytelling. She’s written for NBC, Dreamworks TV, the Hallmark Channel and others.

She is a five-time winner of The Moth StorySLAM, and was the Moth GrandSLAM winner in New York City.
Links

Margot Leitman (website)
The Moth Radio Hour (website)
The Moth (official website)

About this Episode’s Guest Margot Leitman
Margot Leitman is the author of the best-selling book LongStory Short: the Only Storytelling Guide You’ll Ever Need, What’s Your Story? & Gawky: Tales of an Extra Long Awkward Phase. She has written for DreamWorks TV, the Hallmark Channel, and the Pixl Network and worked for “This American Life” as the West Coast story scout. She is the founder of the storytelling program at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre and is a five-time winner of the Moth Storyslam and a winner of the Moth Grandslam, receiving the first ever score of a perfect 10. She travels all over the world teaching people to tell their stories.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Kent Tekulve – The Closer

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 04:16:01 GMT

If you like baseball you’ll love this interview. If you like Pittsburgh sports, you’ll love this interview. Former Pittsburgh Pirate closer and World Series Champion Kent Tekulve joins Tim in this special extended episode. Kent talks baseball, Pittsburgh, how to teach kids about sports, and somewhat about life.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Kent_Tekulve_-_The_Closer_auphonic.mp3

This is an extended conversation where I promise you that after you listen to this, you’ll feel like you made a new best friend. With that in mind, we’re going to get right to our interview.

But before we do, I think I owe it to you to give you some of the basics.

Kent Tekulve is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was a tall, skinny reliever and a closer in his career, which included stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. You can learn a ton if all you do is search for his name online, and you’ll get all his stats.

Kent Tekulve pitched in more than 1,000 major league games during the 1970s and 80s. He recorded an unbelievable 184 saves. He was a closer, and if you know anything about baseball, closers are the coolest dudes on the roster. They come in when the pressure’s on and they close out the game.

He’s most known as a Pittsburgh Pirate, but not just any Pirate. Kent was the pitcher on the mound to get the last out of the seventh game in the 9th inning of the 1979 World Series. This was the last time the Pirates made it to the World Series, and the last time they won a World Series. Kent was on the mound in Baltimore for that feat.

He came up in the minors with the Pirates and played in his first major league game in 1974.
If You Liked This Episode You’ll Also Like

Going Head to Head with the NFL - Guest: Ralph Cindrich
Larry Czonka: A Football Story - Guest: Larry Czonka

Links

Kent Tekulve - Baseball Reference
Kent Tekulve - Major League Baseball
Kent Tekulve: The Bespectacled Submariner of the '79 World Series Remains a Man of the People in Pittsburgh - Sports Illustrated

About this Episode’s Guest Kent Tekulve
Kent Tekulve is best known as "Teke." He’s was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for 16 years, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. He was best known as a side-arm pitcher who threw the final pitch to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series.

Tekulve graduated from Marietta College in Ohio, and then signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for them until 1985. His most memorable seasons were 1978 and 1979 when he saved 31 games and posted ERAs of 2.33 (’78) and 2.75 (’79).

In 1979, he was key to the Pirates World Series season and in Game 7 of the World Series that year in Baltimore.

In 1985, the Pirates traded him to the Phillies. In 1989, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds, retiring from baseball at mid-season.

Tekulve led the National League in games pitched four times, appearing in 90 or more games three times.

He is one of two pitchers (also Mike Marshall) in baseball history to appear in 90 or more games more than once. They did it three times each.

Tekulve had three saves in the 1979 World Series, which tied the single-Series mark set by Pittsburgh Pirate Elroy Face in the 1960 World Series. That record would stand until 1996.

Tekulve holds the National League record for career innings pitched in relief (1,436+2⁄3). For a time, he held the major league record for career relief appearances - 1,050 career games, all in relief.

Tekulve holds career records for most appearances and innings pitched without making a single start.

He still resides in the Pittsburgh area.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Secrets of a Hostage Negotiator

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 05:16:35 GMT

FBI-trained hostage negotiator Scott Tillema joins Tim to talk about how to negotiate when the stakes are high, even when lives are on the line. Scott teaches organizations how to use the power of life-saving negotiation principles to get results. This episode was first released March 14, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/334_-_Scott_Tillema_Secrets_of_a_Hostage_Negotiator.mp3

Scott Tillema was trained by the FBI in hostage negotiating. He spent over seven years as a negotiator with the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System Emergency Services Team. This one of the largest municipal SWAT teams in the United States.

Scott is known across the country as a speaker in the field of police negotiations. He’s presented to audiences of all sizes, including a very popular TEDx Talk where he covered, “The Secrets of Hostage Negotiators.”

That’s what we talked about when we sat down with him recently.
Links

Scott Tillema Website
Negotiations Collective, Scott Tillema Page
How to Use the FBI’s Behavioral Change Stairway Model to Influence Like a Pro, EMS1
Active Listening Skills, Psychology Today
Kwame Christian: On Compassionate Curiosity, Behavioral Grooves
Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change, by Robert Cialdini (Amazon)

About this Episode’s Guest Scott Tillema
Scott Tillema is an FBI-trained hostage negotiator. He teaches police, law enforcement agencies and others how to use the power of life-saving techniques and principles to enhance their work. He is a nationally recognized leader in the field of crisis and hostage negotiations, passionately training thousands of police negotiators across the country in verbal influence. He has developed a powerful model for safely resolving crisis situations, which is now being recognized and adapted by the private sector for use in sales, communication, influence, and leadership.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: 7 Random People on Their View of The American Dream

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 05:16:20 GMT

In this episode we hear from seven people who talked with Tim to answer the question, “What is the American Dream?” Tim set out to get the answer to the question on the streets of his hometown, Pittsburgh. You’ll hear from Vidya, Dwayne, Chuck, Leah, Jack, Tamara and Charlie. Each person was selected randomly in “man on the street” interviews, and we had no idea what they would say, but all of their answers were moving, thought-provoking and inspiring. This episode was first released July 4, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/247_-_7_Voices_-_The_American_Dream_auphonic.mp3

For thousands of years, around the world, people weren’t trusted to govern themselves. It was assumed you needed a king, a czar or a dictator to decide what’s best for you.

But in 1776, a group of brave revolutionaries came along with a different idea. They believed that common and civilized people could run their own country. That they didn’t need a king, a monarchy or a dictatorship to run their lives. They believed in freedom, and they spelled it out in the Declaration of the Independence, and the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. They created the greatest country in the history of the world based on the principles contained in these documents.

The thinking is that all people want to be free to decide for themselves on everything from religion and work, to how they raise their families, what they could own, how they could own it and how they can craft their own lives for themselves. But it’s more than just wanting to be free. They deserve to be free.

The founders of the United States of America said it’s not the government that should have the power to grant you your fundamental rights or take them from you. Instead, your rights come from a higher source of power, that your rights and freedoms already exist. They believed that you are born a free person. You can only lose that freedom or certain freedoms when someone else takes them from you.

These thoughts inspired a revolution. Time and again over America’s history, it has had to struggle and sometimes fight over the very issue of freedom, and many of the freedoms we now cherish. There is always someone who wants to take some freedoms away from someone else, and so it’s a struggle for a country like ours to preserve those freedoms.

But freedom has survived and thrived, and it has made many things possible for our nation, our people and our future. In the process, our nation has changed the world and advanced all humanity.

We have a term for the thing that sets America apart from all other countries. It’s just two words. When we think of what makes America the exception in all of history…we think of the American Dream. That is the subject of this episode.
Links

Declaration of Independence
Constitution of the United States of America
Revolutionary War, History
Independence Day, National Parks Service

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: How the Nazis Turned Ordinary Men Into Kill Squads

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 05:16:53 GMT

Historian and author Christopher R. Browning joins Tim to talk about his study of the Holocaust and the “Final Solution” in Poland. In this episode, Christopher discusses his book, “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” and how a group of otherwise average, everyday men turned into one of Hitler’s most prolific killing squads in World War II. This episode was first released January 24, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/223_-_Ordinary_Men_Making_a_Kill_Squad.mp3

Long before the world heard the term “Holocaust” in connection with the Second World War, and even before the mass killing started, it all began with an atmosphere in Germany that supported the expelling of Jewish people from territories controlled by Hitler’s Germany.

At some point, instead of expulsion, the movement would turn into the mass executions of millions of Jews in places like Poland.

Historian and author Christopher Browning wrote the landmark book on how such horrific events could take place. It’s called “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland.”

To set the stage for the larger story of the book, Browning tells us how it began. This passage is part of the opening chapter that book:
“Pale and nervous, with choking voice and tears in his eyes, (Major) Trapp visibly fought to control himself as he spoke. The battalion, he said plaintively, had to perform a frightfully unpleasant task. This assignment was not to his liking, indeed it was highly regrettable, but the orders came from the highest authorities. If it would make their task any easier, the men should remember that in Germany the bombs were falling on women and children.

He then turned to the matter at hand. The Jews had instigated the American boycott that had damaged Germany, one policeman remembered Trapp saying. There were Jews in the village of Jozefow who were involved with the partisans, he explained according to two others. The battalion had now been ordered to round up these Jews. The male Jews of working age were to be separated and taken to a work camp. The remaining Jews – the women, children, and elderly – were to be shot on the spot by the battalion. Having explained what awaited his men, Trapp then made an extraordinary offer: if any of the older men among them did not feel up to the task that lay before him, he could step out.”
These were the major’s comments to the battalion of mostly middle-aged men on the morning of July 13, 1942. They weren’t Nazis. They weren’t even members of the German army. They made up a police battalion of working-class men too old to serve in the army.

Those men would round up and shoot 1,500 Jews in that Polish village on that one day.

That battalion would eventually kill upwards of 83,000 captives during the war, making it one of the most efficient German killing squads in the war.

But as the title of Christopher Browning’s book suggests, before the war, he says these were considered Ordinary Men.
Links

Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, by Christopher R. Browning (Barnes & Noble)
Christopher R. Browning, University of North Carolina (website)
The Stanford Prison Experiment (website)

About this Episode’s Guest Christopher Browning
Christopher R. Browning was the Frank Porter Graham Professor of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill until his retirement in May 2014. Before taking up this position in the fall of 1999, he taught for 25 years at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.

Browning received his B.A. degree from Oberlin College in 1967 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968 and 1975 respectively. He is the author of eight books: The Final Solution and the German Foreign Office (1978), Fateful Months: Essays on the Emergence of the Final Solution (1985),

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Art of Cross-Examination with Attorney Charles Rose

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:16:17 GMT

Advocate, author and attorney Charles H. Rose, III, joins Tim to talk about the art of cross-examination in the court of law. Charles is a successful lawyer, a trial advocate, an author, and currently, he’s the Dean of the Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University. In this episode, he talks about one of the most dramatic features of any courtroom, the cross-examination of a witness at trial. Cross-examination is often where cases are won or lost in the court of law. This episode was originally released on February 28, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/228_-_Charles_Rose_-_The_Art_of_Cross_Examination.mp3

Watch just about any movie or TV show where the drama revolves around a court case and sooner or later the climax of the plot will revolve around a particular witness or testimony.

The trial lawyers question their own witnesses in litigation, and their opposing attorneys have the chance to cross-examine those same witnesses. They get to challenge claims and statements that were made. They go back over previous testimony and look for gaps or contradictions in statements, all to win the case.

In many court cases, cross-examinations are usually tense. A case can be won or lost with every witness who takes the stand.

Our guest today, Charles Rose is regarded as one of the better attorneys at cross-examination. While he’s now law school dean at Ohio Northern University, and he’s served on the faculty at other law schools, he’s had a decorated career in the U.S. Army. He served as a judge advocate where he’s focused on persuasion techniques. He teaches and researches in the areas of advocacy, criminal procedure, evidence and professional ethics.
Links

Charles H. Rose, III (Ohio Northen University)
Charles H. Rose, III, The Trial Advocate (TrialAdvocate.com)
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Amazon.com)

About this Episode’s Guest Charles H. Rose, III
Charles H. Rose III, dean of the Pettit College of Law, previously served as professor of law and director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson University’s College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. Prior to joining the Stetson faculty in 2005, Rose spent 20 years on active duty in the Army. He served as a linguist, intelligence officer and judge advocate.

His primary scholarly interest focuses on advocacy persuasion techniques, and he teaches and researches in the areas of advocacy, criminal procedure, military law, evidence and professional ethics. Rose earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University at South Bend and his JD from Notre Dame Law School. He also earned an LLM from the Judge Advocate General’s School, United States Army.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story of Fallen Police Officer Drew Barr

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 05:16:10 GMT

Cayce, South Carolina Police Chief Chris Cowan joins Tim to talk about something both of us wished we didn’t have to talk about. He tells the story of the recent and tragic loss of one of his officers who was shot and killed while responding to a call. He tells the story of and pays tribute to Officer Drew Barr. In the process, he tells the story of the risks and sacrifices police officers take every day to ‘protect and serve.’ This episode was originally released May 16, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/shapingopinion/Drew_Barr_End_of_Watch_auphonic.mp3

Cayce, South Carolina is a suburb to the City of Columbia.

A few weeks ago, in the early morning hours of a Sunday in Cayce – 2:48 a.m., on April 24th to be exact – there was what police call a “domestic disturbance.”

Police were called to the scene.

Three officers responded. The second officer on the scene was Drew Barr. We’re going to tell you what happened, but before we do that, you need to know a little bit about the young officer.

Partners Drew Barr and Molly

He was 28 years old. He joined the Cayce Police Department in 2016. In October 2020, he was promoted to the department’s K-9 unit. His canine partner was Molly, a black Labrador retriever, who became his family.

He had no wife or children, but he did love his community and he worked to keep it safe.

In addition to being a police officer, he was also a volunteer firefighter, a captain in the Monetta Volunteer Fire Department. He was an emergency medical technician. He was a committed professional.

These are the details that Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan does not want to get lost when people talk about Officer Roy “Drew” Barr.

Links

Cayce Police Department
SC law enforcement community mourns slain Cayce police officer: ‘He was brave’ | Columbia | postandcourier.com
‘Our Hearts Are Breaking in Cayce;’ SC Fire Captain/Police Officer Killed in Shooting (firefighternation.com)
Officer Drew Barr honored at funeral and graveside service (wistv.com)
Chief: Man killed SC officer with calculated shot from rifle – ABC News (go.com)

Gratitude
Our gratitude to the Cayce Police Department for the photos used on this page, to Chief Cowan for telling the Drew Barr story, to Officer Drew Barr himself and to his family for the sacrifices they have made for others.
About this Episode’s Guest Chris Cowan
Chris Cowan is recognized internationally for his vast network of private and public partnerships and his expansive policing knowledge, from 29 years in law enforcement. Chris’ extensive experience leading special operations, homeland security, crime suppression, professional development, community policing, media relations and business and community crime prevention units has given him a unique perspective on what it takes to be a guardian to our communities. He has also served as a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Public Information Officer, Commander of Special Weapons and Tactics Units and Commander of Community Policing Units. This experience has provided Chris with a unique perspective on mitigating challenges to corporate and community quality of life issues because it has been paralleled with 22 years in corporate security, risk management and professional development. His passion is holistic policing strategies to provide stability to all citizens, and protect the vulnerable, through programs that create religious, business and neighborhood crime prevention.

Commissioned a United States Naval Officer; he secured his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He has also earned a Masters Certificate from the Australian Institute of Police Management. Chris is a graduate of the South Carolina Executive Institute, the FBI National Academy, the FBI Command College and the FBI Hazardous Devices School Executive Management Program. He has over 19 years of leadership experience in the fields of administration, human capital, crisis management,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: It’s Groundhog Day…Again

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 05:16:35 GMT

Groundhog Club Inner Circle member John Griffiths joins Tim to talk about Groundhog Day and why a little town called Punxsutawney becomes the epicenter of weather prognostication one day a year. John is the handler of Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania ground hog famous around the world for predicting whether or not we have another 6 weeks of winter. February 2nd is better known as Groundhog Day. This episode was first released January 21, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/329_-_Encore_-_Its_Groundhog_Day_Again.mp3

On February 2nd, 2019, it will be the 133rd year of Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which is a little drive north of Pittsburgh.

This is when Punxsutawney Phil will reveal to the president of his Inner Circle his prediction for the end of winter.

It all happens at the break of dawn, on a usually very cold morning in front of thousands of spectators and television and news media cameras. Whatever happens, Phil’s prediction is transmitted to millions thanks to the media.
History of Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day has European roots. Started centuries ago and is rooted in certain animals in nature “awakening” from their winter hibernation on certain dates. Legend has it then that the groundhog come out of his winter hibernation on February 2nd to look for his shadow.

If he sees it, this is seen as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather, and he then returns into his hole.
If the day is cloudy, and there is no shadow to see, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground.

Some of Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers were Germans and they noticed the abundance of groundhogs.
They saw the animal as the most intelligent and sensible of the local animals, and decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, the groundhog would be the one to see its shadow or not.
Phun Phacts

Punxsutawney Phil is named after King Phillip. Crowds have gotten as high as 30,000 on Gobbler’s Knob.
The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper printed the first news of the observance in 1886, one year before the first trip to Gobbler’s Knob.
During Prohibition, Phil threatened to imposed 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn’t permitted a drink.
In 1982 Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran.
In 1986, Phil went to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Reagan.
1993, Columbia Pictures released the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray.

Links

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
Groundhog Day Movie via Amazon
The First Groundhog Day, History.com
Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney from The Encyclopedia Britannica

About this Episode’s Guest John Griffiths
John Griffiths is a co-handler in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and a member of the Inner Circle. He’s been a member since 1999.

His advice to people who plan on enjoying Groundhog Day in person, he advises “Put all rational thought out of your mind and let the day take you wherever it may.”

His favorite Groundhog Day Memory was, “Meeting a couple from the state of Washington who told me Groundhog Day was their favorite holiday because it wasn’t political or religious, its just ‘fun’.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Marc Summers Remembers Nickelodeon’s “Double Dare”

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 05:16:55 GMT

Television host and producer Marc Summers joins Tim to talk about the classic Nickelodeon show that put him and the Nickelodeon cable network on the map, Double Dare. Before Double Dare, kids didn’t have their own game show and the Nickelodeon network was not as widely known as it would become after this crazy, messy, green slimy “party” that millions of millennials would rush home after school to watch. This episode was originally released on March 16, 2020.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/214_-_Encore_-_Marc_Summers_and_Nickelodeon.mp3

It was the first game show for kids on the Nickelodeon cable network. It premiered in 1986 with Marc Summers as its host. Double Dare.

In the show, two teams would compete to win money and prizes by answering trivia questions and completing physical challenges that amounted to an organized mess.

The original version of Double Dare ran from 1986 to 1993. Two subsequent versions relaunched in 2000, and then from 2018 to 2019.

Double Dare had more than tripled viewership for Nickelodeon in the afternoon. It was the most popular original daily program on cable television.

Because of that show, Nickelodeon was able to take its place as a major player in cable television, and game shows for kids a thing.

The show remains Nickelodeon’s longest-running game show. In January 2001, TV Guide, ranked the show number 29 on its list of 50 Greatest Game Shows.
Links

Marc Summers
Double Dare, Nick
Double Dare, Fandom
Five Things to Know About the Green Slime on Double Dare, Newsday

About this Episode’s Guest Marc Summers
Marc Summers is a veteran television host and producer, and a comedian. His long list of television credits include: host and producer of Double Dare on Nickelodeon, Unwrapped for the Food Network, and as executive producer of the Food Network’s Dinner: Impossible and Restaurant: Impossible.

Over the year’s he’s hosted other shows, such as the syndicated Couch Potatoes, Nickelodeon’s What Would You Do?, and as a talk show host on the Lifetime network’s Our Home program.

He remains active in new projects across several networks and platforms.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Mark Seal on the Making of The Godfather

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 05:16:59 GMT

Author Mark Seal joins Tim to talk with Mark about the subject of his popular new book about the making of The Godfather movie. The book is called, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.” Mark has is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where he’s covered scandals, history makers and pop culture icons. This episode was originally released January 10, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/221_-_The_Making_of_The_Godfather_auphonic.mp3

The Godfather was the first of three motion pictures directed by Francis Ford Coppola about the fictional Corleone crime family. The box office hit was released in 1972, and was followed by sequels in 1974 and 1990.

The original Godfather film was inspired by the novel of the same name that was written by Mario Puzo and published in 1969.

All of the films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and generated roughly $512 million worldwide. The film franchise won nine Academy Awards.

This coming March will mark the 50th anniversary of when the Godfather first hit the big screens.

The movie centers on Don Vito Corleone and his family. Marlon Brando plays the Don.

The Don declines an offer to get into the narcotics business with another crime family, which is led by Virgil Sollozzo.

This creates problems. Don Corleone becomes a marked man. Don Corleone’s oldest boy is Sonny Corleone. He’s played by James Caan. Sonny takes over the crime family while his father recovers.

Meanwhile, Sonny’s little brother Michael – who is played by Al Pacino – is recruited to exact revenge on Sollozzo.

As the gang wars heat up, Michael is sent to Sicily to lay low for a while. That’s where he meets his first wife. The violence follows him there when his young bride is killed.

Back in New York, Michael’s older brother Sonny is killed in an ambush attack.

By now, Don Vito Corleone has recovered from the assassination attempt on his life, but he decides to turn over the control of the family business to Michael.

There are plots and sub-plots, but through it all, Michael emerges as a force to be reckoned with, and Al Pacino goes from a relative unknown to a Hollywood super star.

Mark Seal first wrote about the making of The Godfather years ago in his work for Vanity Fair Magazine. Eventually, that work would lead to his new book entitled, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.”
Links

Mark Seal (website)
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, by Mark Seal (Barnes & Noble)

About this Episode’s Guest Mark Seal
Veteran author and journalist Mark Seal joined Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 2003, covering stories as varied as the Bernie Madoff scandal, Ghislaine Maxwell, Tiger Woods, the fall of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, the making of classic films such as Pulp Fiction, and many more.

He has twice been a National Magazine Awards finalist. His 2016 Vanity Fair article “The Over the Hill Gang,” about a gang of retired thieves who pulled off the biggest jewel heist in British history, was the basis of the 2018 film, King of Thieves, starring Michael Caine.

In addition to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. he is the author of the books Wildflower, about the incredible life and brutal murder of Kenyan naturalist and filmmaker Joan Root, and The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, about the serial con artist Clark Rockefeller.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Amy Herman on What’s Hiding in Plain Sight

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 05:16:35 GMT

Amy Herman joins Tim to talk about a one-of-a-kind career she made for herself, all centered on using art to help people see the world differently and better in order to do their jobs better. Amy is the author of the books, “Visual Intelligence” and “Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving.” In short, Amy helps people find information and solutions that are hiding in plain sight. This episode originally was released February 7, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Hiding_in_Plain_Sight.mp3

Amy Herman teaches visual intelligence. She gives lectures, she gives TED talks, she gives tours of art museums, she participates in podcasts like this one. And the common theme is that she helps others see things they may be missing. She helps them develop a skillset or an ability to see details or context that’s right in front of them, but in the normal course of affairs, they just may not see.

Some of her students are police detectives, federal agents, doctors, and many others.

Amy works to help them improve their visual intelligence.

Imagine what it would be like to be given a short period of time to investigate a crime scene – a murder scene. It’s your job to look for patterns, to look for exceptions, to look for details and clues that might tell you when this was done, what the motive might have been, and perhaps who may have done it.

How can you step back and look at the scene with a fresh eye. An unbiased eye. One that picks up things you might not have noticed before?

That’s one of the first questions we asked Amy.
Links

The Art of Perception (website)
Visual Intelligence, by Amy Herman (Amazon)
Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving, by Amy Herman (Amazon)
To Master the Art of Solving Crimes, Cops Study Vermeer, Wall Street Journal

About this Episode’s Guest Amy Herman

Amy Herman

Amy Herman is a lawyer and art historian who uses works of art to sharpen observation, analysis, and communication skills. By showing people how to look closely at painting, sculpture, and photography, she helps them hone their visual intelligence to recognize the most pertinent and useful information as well as recognize biases that impede decision making. She developed her Art of Perception seminar in 2000 to improve medical students’ observation and communication skills with their patients when she was the Head of Education at The Frick Collection in New York City. She subsequently adapted the program for a wide range of professionals and leads sessions internationally for the New York City Police Department, the FBI, the French National Police, the Department of Defense, Interpol, the State Department, Fortune 500 companies, first responders, the military, and the intelligence community.

In her highly participatory presentation, she demonstrates the relevance of visual literacy across the professional spectrum and how the analysis of works of art affords participants in her program an innovative way to refresh their sense of critical inquiry and reconsider the skills necessary for improved performance and effective leadership. The program has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The CBS Evening News, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others. Her TED talk, A Lesson in Looking, went live in December 2018. Ms. Herman holds an A.B., a J.D., and an M.A. in art history. Her book, Visual Intelligence, was published in May 2016 and was on both the New York Times and Washington Post best sellers’ lists.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: New Years’ Traditions

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 05:16:37 GMT

Alexis McCrossen, a professor at SMU and an expert on how cultures have marked time in history, Joins Tim to talk about our New Year’s Eve traditions with a special focus on the story behind that Times Square Ball Drop. This episode was first released on December 24, 2018.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/325_-_Encore_New_Years.mp3

If you plan to watch the Times Square ball-drop at Midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’re not alone. New York City expects to play host to over 2 million people for the festivities.

Over 175 million across the United States will watch the ball drop on TV.
And around the world, over 1 billion people will watch.
103 million said they will travel 30 miles or more to celebrate
93.6 million will drive

When we think of New Year’s Eve, we often think of Times Square and parties at organized events, bars and restaurants, but I have some interesting statistics, thanks to WalletHub from last year:

49% celebrate the holiday at home
9% at a bar, restaurant, or organized event
23% don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve
30% said they fall asleep before Midnight
61% said they say a prayer on New Year’s Eve.

Rankings

Christmas 78%
Thanksgiving 74%
Independence Day 47%
New Year’s Eve 41%

Most Popular New Year’s Eve Destinations

Las Vegas
Orlando
New York City

More Times Square Stats

7,000 police officers in Times Square
1.5 tons of confetti dropped
280 sanitation workers will clean up 40-50 tons of trash.
The ball itself – Waterford Crystal Triangles – 11,875 pounds

That’s today. Let’s talk about the history:

For 4,000 years people have marked a New Year
Public bells would herald the New Year since the Middle Ages
Theaters, taverns and other places would be very busy on the night
Rituals meant to augur good fortune.
1900 or so, the moment of Midnight became the focus because cities were illuminated with gas and electric lights. (Times Square)
Installation of public clocks and bells

The Countdown

1907/08 was the first year to drop an illuminated time ball at the moment of the New Year’s arrival.
Uses a flag pole atop One Times Square.
First one was made of iron and wood and had 25-watt light bulbs. 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds.
When radio and television media emerged, New Year’s Eve was a made for broadcast media event. Live coverage.

Links

Counting Down to a New Year: The History of Our Joyful Celebration, We’re History
For Better or Worse, The New Year is Time’s Touchstone, Dallas Morning News
A Ball of a Time: A History of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, The New Yorker
How Times Square Became the Home of New Year’s Eve, History.com

About this Episode’s Guest Alexis McCrossen
Alexis McCrossen is a professor of history at Southern Methodist University and has devoted her career as a cultural historian to studying how Americans observe the passage of time. She is the author of Holy Day, Holiday: The American Sunday; and Marking Modern Times: Clocks, Watches and Other Timekeepers in American Life.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: 7 Random People’s Favorite Holiday Memories

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 05:16:38 GMT

Today is Christmas. We’re in the peak of the American holiday season, which started at Thanksgiving. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I’d take to the streets of Pittsburgh once again and talk to people about their holiday memories. That’s what this special holiday edition of the Shaping Opinion podcast is about. This episode was originally released on December 19, 2022.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/324_-_Encore_7_Favorite_Holiday_Memories.mp3

In this episode, we talk about some favorite holiday memories. You’ll hear from seven different people, each with their own holiday memories, and there’s one thing I can tell you, not one of them will talk about a toy they found under that Christmas tree.

Each person has his or her unique and special holiday memories. But as we’ve found in previous episodes like this, you may hear something of your own holidays in the stories our guests tell. In the end, there is a common thread across every story we hear.

To prepare for this episode, I spent the afternoon before Thanksgiving on a bench in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It was a nice November day in the city. Warm and sunny. People were in a good mood, getting ready for the holiday season once again.

The voices you hear are of Elijah, Sara, Katie, Jeremy, Deborah, Gina, and Heather.
Links

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: The Story and Trivia Behind the Beloved Classic Holiday Tale, Parade
How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start, History.com
10 Must-see Attractions During the Holidays in Pittsburgh, DiscoverTheBurgh.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 05:16:15 GMT

Plan on watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation this holiday season? Listen to the film’s director Jeremiah Chechik talk about the impact that movie has had on him and on our holiday entertainment traditions. He’ll talk about the making of the film and why the Griswold Family have become a staple in holiday viewing. This episode was originally released on December 2, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/323_-_Encore_-_Christmas_Vacation_Movie.mp3

Are there any movies you just have to watch every year during the holiday season? Maybe you like to watch Frank Capra’s classic called It’s a Wonderful Life that featured Jimmy Stewart. Or, perhaps your favorite move is one of the Home Alone films, written of course by John Hughes.

Or, just maybe your holiday season wouldn’t be complete without inviting Clark Griswold and family into your home.

It’s been 30 years since John Hughes wrote the script for National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which itself was the third sequel in a series of National Lampoon Vacation films, starring Chevy Chase.

The film was based on a short story that John Hughes wrote for National Lampoon in December 1980. That story was called, “Christmas ’59.”

The movie was no small budget affair. And it featured an ensemble cast of already established actors, and a few who would become A-list Hollywood stars.

In addition to Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo played Clark’s wife Ellen. Juliette Lewis played their sarcastic teenage daughter. Johnny Galecki played their son, Russ. Randy Quaid delivered an unforgettable performance as Cousin Eddie, and he was joined by an all-star ensemble cast that included Miriam Flynn, who played his wife, and John Randolph, Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, who played the parents of Clark and Ellen. Other notable actors who made their mark on the film were William Hickey, Mae Questel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brian Doyle-Murray.

Christmas Vacation debuted at number-2 at the box office, grossing nearly $12 million that opening weekend. It would top the box office charts three weeks later, eventually grossing over $71 million in the United States. And that was before it hit the home video market and landed its place on our list of holiday season traditions.

For Jeremiah Chechik, it was his first chance to direct a full-length feature film, and a comedy.
Links

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, IMDB
Jeremiah Chechik
An Oral History of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Rolling Stone
Christmas Vacation Movie Facts, Good Housekeeping

About this Episode’s Guest Jeremiah Chechik
Jeremiah Chechik was born in Montreal, Canada in the fifties and grew up surrounded by books, home made radios and every issue of Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. He got himself a scholarship to McGill University in physics but at the last moment shifted his major to the arts. He was active in the anti-war movement and filmed documentaries on the Black Panthers. He directed plays, studied with John Grierson, the father of the documentary film and later became his assistant. After graduating, he moved to Toronto, worked as a master printmaker for the rare books library at University of Toronto, experimented with coupling the photographic processes to stone lithography and helped start a gallery (A-Space). He received Canada Council Grants, had many solo shows and became one of the first artists to work in laser holography.

His success as a fine artist brought him to the attention of advertising agencies and fashion magazines and before long he moved to Milan and began a career as a fashion photographer for Italian Vogue. Jeremiah photographed editorial for Vogue and Harpers Bazaar as well as fashion and beauty campaigns worldwide eventually bringing him back to Canada to begin his evolution into film as he continued to work in photography but without exhibiting.

Soon he moved to New York and began a meteoric ris...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Real Story Behind Santa Claus

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:16:54 GMT

Author Gerry Bowler joins Tim to discuss the story of Santa Claus. Gerry is the author of the book entitled, “Santa Claus: A Biography.” He talks about everything from Santa Claus’s birth and evolution over the centuries, to his role in modern day culture. Santa Claus the philanthropist, Santa Claus the gift giver, and Santa Claus the ad man. This episode was originally released on December 17, 2018. Parental warning: If your child believes in Santa Claus, you may not want him or her to listen.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/322_-_Encore_Santa_Claus.mp3

In his book Gerry details the birth of Santa Claus and his” character development.” Santa is described him as an advocate, an adman, a warrior, and of course his role in entertainment, from movies, television shows and in music, books and literature.

St. Nicholas died in December 343 AD. By 1100, he was the most powerful saint on the Catholic Church’s calendar.

The St. Nicholas legend: One father who was down and out couldn’t provide for his three daughters, so he decides to sell them into slavery. So, Nicholas would sneak bags of gold through the father’s window, saving the girls from a live of oppression.

By the Middle Ages, with gift-giving a part of the Christmas season, different customs emerged. One that grew in popularity was the legend of St. Nicholas coming through a window or down a chimney to leave gifts in stockings and shoes by the fire, by a window or by a bed.

By the 16th century, protestant reformers depicted medieval cult of saints. They did not readily embrace St. Nicholas.

There was tension between the Protestant and Catholic sects and St. Nicholas was at the center of it. The controversies usually centered over how the communities marked Christmas.

St. Nicholas was venerated throughout Europe but debate on whether he ever made it across the Atlantic to North America with gusto.

The Feast of St. Nicholas is December 6, most notably marked by the Dutch, which paves the way for the modern celebration of Christmas.

The earliest mention of Santa Claus was 1773 in Rivington’s Gazetteer, a New York Newspaper.

On December 15, 1810, the New York Spectator published a poem about Sancte Claus – a good holy man who brings gifts to good children.
The first picture of Santa Claus was published in 1821 when William Gilley of New York published a book of lithographed images with one of Santa Claus. “The Children’s Friend: a New Year’s Present, to Little Ones from Five to Twelve.”
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore was credited for authoring the classic poem, “The Night Before Christmas.”

Other topics we discuss:

Santa Claus in Books and Literature
Santa Claus in Music
Santa Claus in Advertising (We address the Coca-Cola Santa myth)
Santa Claus in Motion Pictures and Television

Links

Santa Claus: A Biography, by Gerry Bowler (Amazon)
A Visit from Saint Nicholas (Night Before Christmas), Clement Clarke Moore
Saint Nicholas, Biography.com
Coca-Cola and Santa Claus, Coca-Cola Company
Saturday Evening Post and Santa Claus, Saturday Evening Post
Miracle on 34th Street Motion Picture, IMDb
St. Nicholas to Santa: The Surprising Origins of Mr. Claus, National Geographic

About this Episode’s Guest Gerry Bowler
Gerry Bowler is a Canadian historian, specializing in the intersection of religion and popular culture. He is the author of The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Santa Claus: A Biography and Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Christmas Truce of 1914

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 05:16:08 GMT

Historian and author Terri Crocker joins Tim to talk about the still remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914 at the outset of the First World War. Terri wrote the book, “The Christmas Truce: Myth, memory and the First World War.” In this episode, we look at the Western Front where against all odds and their commanding officers, German and British troops, and others stepped out into no man’s land on Christmas Day for a day of peace. This episode was originally released on December 23, 2019.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/321_-_Encore_Christmas_Truce.mp3

It was the first Christmas since the start of the First World War in 1914. The bloodshed had already been enormous.

The front lines of the war along the Western Front were close enough to hear what was happening in the trenches on the other side. In between was known as no man’s land, where nothing could survive the steady sniping and bombardment between the armies.

The trenches were cold, muddy and wet, and sometimes, cold, frozen and wet. The troops on both sides thought the war would be over by Christmas, and here it was Christmas Eve.

Silence, and then as Terri Crocker tells it, the sound of music would break the silence.

A young farmer’s son in the Queen’s Westminster regiment by the name of Edgar Aplin starts to sing. He’s apparently a good tenor, and he sings the song Tommy Lad.

After a few verses, he hears a voice from the German trenches shout, “Sing it again Englander. Sing Tommy Lad again.”

So, Edgar sings the song again, and then events started to unfold. Private Aplin would send letters to his relatives and there is documentary evidence of this.

“We had been out of the trenches for four days’ rest, and returned on the 23rd of December, to relieve some regular troops. On Christmas Eve, the usual war methods went on all day, sniping, etc., until evening, when we started a few carols and the old home songs.”

Immediately, our pals over the way began to cheer, and eventually we got shouting across to the Germans. Those opposite our front can mostly speak English.

“Soon after dark, we suggested that if they would send one man halfway between the trenches (300 yards), we would do the same, and both agreed not to fire.

“So, advancing towards each other, each carrying a torch, when they met, they exchanged cigarettes and lit up. Cheering on both sides was tremendous, and I shall never forget it. After a little while, several others went out, and a pal of mine met an officer who said that if we did not shoot for 48 hours, they wouldn’t. And they were good as their word, too. On Christmas Day, we were nearly all out of the trenches. It was almost impossible to describe the day as it appeared to us here and I can tell you, we all enjoyed the peaceful time.”

The family had said that Private Aplin would survive the war. He was sounded in the legs in March 1915 and went back to Britain where he recovered and would train new officers.

After the war, he was a “milk man” and owned some “tea rooms.”
The Cause of War
World War I began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and lasted until 1918.

During the war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) faced off against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers).

Because of new military technologies and trench warfare, the First World War killed more than 16 million people.
Before the Truce
The sides had negotiated cease fires for body retrieval for burial. But during the day, soldiers were ordered “over the top” for charges. Their bodies were left stranded in “no-man’s land.”

In the dark, both sides would send other soldiers out to retrieve the fallen. Sometimes, soldiers would intentionally hold fire.

After dark, food would be delivered to the troops on both sides and they would actually cease fire during meal times.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

A Children’s Episode

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 05:16:26 GMT

This is our special Children’s Episode. It was written and produced for young listeners and was inspired by a movie that Tim recently saw. It is not designed to entertain, though it may. It is not designed to educate, though it will. It is designed to make the listener think, to question and to want to know more. As you listen, please know I can’t know what you like or don’t like, or more importantly, what your kids like or don’t like, unless you tell me. Please use the contact form on this site. That will help me plan future episodes.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Childrens_Episode_Pilot_auphonic.mp3

We’re doing something different today. Really different. So different that from what I can tell, there aren’t any other podcasts out there doing this at all.

So, let’s call this an experiment, and I really need you to do a couple of things to see if this something worth doing again…or not.

First, a little background. Not too long ago, I watched a movie called, “All the Light We Cannot See.” It’s a movie based on a fictional novel of the same name. It’s set in occupied France during World War II, but the story itself centers on human connections. A blind girl, a German boy, a French resistance fighter, and this voice over the radio the kids only know as, “The Professor.”

When I watched the movie, I was captivated by the simplicity and the power of those connections. And it was all because of stories and information read over the radio to listeners that the reader could not see or even know were listening.

The professor in the movie was actor Hugh Laurie. His Shakespearian delivery would put me to shame, so trust me, I’m not trying anything close to that here.

But still, I thought it worth a shot to come up with my own variation of this, inspired by that story. So, I created this episode for your kids, or someone’s child you may know. All I ask is that you listen first, and if you like what you hear, share it with a child. And then let me know how it went. I mean that.

If it is indeed something kids may like, I won’t know unless you tell me. Just log onto the contact form at ShapingOpinion.com to let me know.

Or, send an email to Tim@ShapingOpinion.com.

Thank you for listening to the Shaping Opinion Podcast. You’re our podcast family and the reason we do this.
Links

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (Amazon)
All the Light We Cannot See (Movie), (Netflix)
Aristotle (History Channel)
Geography – The North Pole (National Geographic)
Art – Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want" (Norman Rockwell Museum)
Story – The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams Bianco (UPenn Digital Library)
Science – Why does a ball bounce? (Highlights for Kids)

Our Poem
"Thinking"
By Walter D. Wintle
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win but you think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself,
before you can ever win a prize.

Life’s battle don’t always go to the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late, the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days,
And warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
Wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world
With joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons,
Bring the best to you and yours!
Listener Note
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Real Story of The Mayflower

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 05:16:28 GMT

New York Times best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick joins Tim to talk about the story behind those pilgrims and the Mayflower in a way that covers much more than that first Thanksgiving. Nathaniel has authored many best sellers, but the one we’ll focus on in this episode is must-reading for anyone who wants to get the full story of Thanksgiving’s origins in America. The book is called simply, “Mayflower.” This episode marks the 400th anniversary of that world-changing voyage. This episode was originally released on November 23, 2020.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_The_Real_Story_of_The_Mayflower.mp3

It’s been 400 years since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in the New World. The world was a much different place then than as it is now, in many ways, but for the sake of this episode the place to start is the practice of religion. Keep in mind, this is long before 1776 and the Declaration of Independence.

The Pilgrims lived under a king. King James, to be precise. And that king did not allow for freedom of religion. The Church was the state. The state was the Church. It was the Church of England. And for all intents and purposes, the king was god on earth.

If you did not recognize his church’s absolute authority over your life, you were persecuted, perhaps imprisoned and sometimes even executed, all because you did not believe in that church’s doctrines and teachings.

There were two groups who opposed this. The Puritans wanted to create change from within. And the separatists wanted to flee. They just wanted to leave England for a better place, where they could practice their religion according to their own conscience.

So, they did. In 1608, 12 years before the Mayflower, a group of separatists sailed from England to a town in Holland called Leiden. They went to Holland to worship their God the way they wanted.

And while they did experience religious freedom in Holland, they also found the rules had changed from what they were used to. The Dutch craft guilds did not accept them because they were migrants. They found themselves on the lowest rungs of the caste system. They worked the lowest jobs for the lowest pay.

The separatists also felt that the secular culture of Holland provided too much temptation for their children and worried it would lure them away from their faith.

That’s when the separatists decided to uproot and sail to the New World, where they could live and practice their faith on their own terms.

They returned to London to organize and get funding from a successful merchant.

The separatists then hired a merchant ship called the Mayflower and 40 separatists boarded it in September 1620. The 40 separatists were joined by others. A total of 102 passengers sailed on the Mayflower for the rugged shores of that New World.

In November of that year, they arrived at a place where a huge rock dominated the shore line. A rock they would dub Plymouth Rock, and that is where life in the New World – for them – began.

Nathaniel Philbrick’s book about the Mayflower is about more than one voyage and eventually the Thanksgiving story, though that is our focus today. He followed the separatists – the Pilgrims – through a 50-plus year history in the New World.
Links

Nathaniel Philbrick, author page
Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War, by Nathaniel Philbrick, Amazon
The Mayflower, History.com
The Mayflower Compact, Yale.edu
Pilgrim Hall Museum
See Plymouth (tourism), Plymouth, Massachusetts

About this Episode’s Guest Nathaniel Philbrick
Nathaniel Philbrick was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended Linden Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School. He earned a BA in English from Brown University and an MA in America Literature from Duke University, where he was a James B. Duke Fellow. He was Brown University’s first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Robert Page: Does Weed Attack Your Heart?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 05:16:19 GMT

Robert Page, a professor in the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Physical Medicine at the University of Colorado, joins Tim to talk about some new developments in determining significant cardiovascular risks associated with marijuana use, regardless of the reason. He’s the lead author on a new paper from the American Heart Association that exposes major risks. We talk about his paper, some of the myths surrounding medical marijuana usage, and what it all means.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Robert_Page_-_Weed_and_Heart_Health_auphonic.mp3

If I were to use a term with you, a propaganda term, do you think you’d fall for it? Let’s give it a shot. So, here’s the term. What do you think of when I say, “medical marijuana?”

Now, before we go any further, I need to give you a quick history lesson on the field where I work. I work in public relations. The founding fathers of this field actually called it the practice of propaganda back in those early days. And they weren’t wrong. Some 100 years ago, propagandists sold everything from war bonds to cigarettes, from oil and gasoline to railroad travel. And when something went wrong, they became spin doctors. They played with the truth, and it wasn’t always ethical.

Since then, the field has done much to improve its own image by establishing ethical standards, but this doesn’t mean that “spin” has just faded away. The battle over the truth is never-ending.

If you can believe this, back in the 1930s and 40s, the advertising and public relations fields convinced Americans that smoking cigarettes was actually good for their health.

At that time, the medical community had not yet discovered the link between smoking and lung cancer or lung disease. In fact, most doctors smoked cigarettes.

Of course, there was evidence all around them that lung cancer was on the rise, but no one blamed cigarettes at first.

Some tobacco companies even used doctors in their ads. American Tobacco was the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes. In 1930, the company created an ad that said, “20,679 Physicians say ‘LUCKIES are less irritating’” to the throat of a smoker.

To arrive at this conclusion, American Tobacco’s advertising agency sent cartons of Lucky Strike cigarettes to doctors along with a letter. That letter asked those doctors whether they believed Lucky Strike cigarettes were “less irritating to sensitive and tender throats than other cigarettes.” To make sure they got the results they wanted, the letter that “a good many people” had already said Lucky Strikes were less irritating.

In the end, millions of Americans came to believe that cigarettes have a medicinal effect.

By 1937, the Philip Morris weighed in with an ad in the Saturday Evening Post. Keep in mind, that magazine was extremely dominant and powerful in influencing public opinion throughout the United States at the time.

The Philip Morris ad said the company did a study that showed “when smokers changed to Philip Morris, every case of irritation cleared completely and definitely improved.” The ad never mentioned the business relationship the company had with those doctors.

For years, tobacco companies made claims in their advertising and marketing that smoking cigarettes are healthy, and if not good for you, the ads certainly never hinted that cigarettes could be bad for you.

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company even created a Medical Relations Division and promoted it through medical journals. That company paid for its own research to demonstrate the medicinal benefits of cigarette smoking.

In 1946, R.J. Reynolds created a new ad campaign under the slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”

We talk to someone who knows a lot more than I do on this. Robert Page is the lead author on a new scientific paper called: “Medical Marijuana, Recreational Cannabis, and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Kashmir Hill: The End of Privacy

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 05:16:15 GMT

New York Times reporter and author Kashmir Hill joins Tim to talk about her new book called, “Your Face Belongs to Us: A secretive startups quest to end privacy as we know it.” It’s about facial recognition tech, how prevalent it already is, and how we are leaving the age where privacy could be expected. In 2019, Kashmir wrote a story that exposed a future where anyone who shows their face in public will lose all privacy.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Kashmir_Hill_-_Facial_Recognition_auphonic.mp3

Kashmir Hill is a tech reporter at the New York Times. She writes about such things as privacy and how technology us creeping into new frontiers in our lives, oftentimes invading out privacy.

But that’s just a start. What happens when you lose your privacy? What happens when government, police agencies, private citizens snoop…and they somehow find your face in connection with something they’re investigating?

What if they connect you to something bad, and the technology made a mistake?

These questions aren’t academic. There are a number of companies already in the business of scraping the internet for photos of you and millions of others. They can piece it all together in seconds to determine much more about you than you realize.

But there is one company that caught the attention of our guest, Kashmir. A very secretive company that appeared to be more powerful and capable than all of the other companies out there.

So, my first question was for Kashmir was, how did you find out about this company called Clearview AI?
Links

Your Face Belongs to Us: A secretive startups quest to end privacy as we know it, by Kashmir Hill (Amazon)
Kashmir Hill Author Page, Penguin Random House
Your Face Belongs to Us (Review), The Guardian
The Secretive Company that May End Privacy as We Know It, New York Times
Your Face is Not Your Own, New York Times Magazine

About this Episode’s Guest Kashmir Hill
Kashmir Hill is a tech reporter at The New York Times, where her writing about the intersection of privacy and technology pioneered the genre. Hill has worked and written for a number of publications, including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Gizmodo, Popular Science, Forbes, and many others.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Kaleb Gorman: When Your Thoughts are Not Your Own

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 04:16:45 GMT

Psychologist and author Kaleb Gorman joins Tim to talk about the way in which military psychological operations strategies have found their way into the mainstream. Kaleb is the author of an Amazon best-selling book called, “Psychwars: Self-Defence Against Psyops, Propaganda and Mind Control.”

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Kaleb_Gorman_-_Psychwars_auphonic.mp3

A few episodes back, we had a great conversation with a former CIA propaganda operative named Joe Goldberg. In the course of my research for that episode, I came across a book written by our guest today, Kaleb Gorman. It’s called Psychwars.

Here’s how Kaleb summarized the book. He says there has always been a psychological element to warfare, but in the 21st Century, the tactics used by military geniuses to control the behavior of their adversaries have now been coopted by governments, corporations, ideologies, and the general public in order to wage psychological warfare against you.

He says he wrote his book to help you recognize and defend against the mass and targeted psyops you encounter.

Now, let’s take a step back from that. If you’re a regular listener to this podcast, you know I’m a communications professional and have been so for several decades. At no point have I ever seen explicit or direct proof that psychological warfare is being used by governments, corporations or the general public on me, you or anyone else. Does this mean it’s not happening?

No.

I read Kaleb’s book, and what he’s saying is much more subtle, and possibly more pervasive than that. Once you learn about the strategies and tactics of psychological operations, it’s actually impossible not to see the proof that yes, the competition for your mind is far-reaching and intense. And those same tactics that were honed in the military and around the world many years ago have indeed become a part of our public life.

Kaleb approached this issue from the vantage point of a trained psychologist. He dug deep, and he breaks it all down in ways that will make you think twice the next time you click on a news story, read a social media post or watch that video online.

So, when I sat down with Kaleb for this episode, I started at the very beginning. I asked him, “What are psyops?”
Links

Psychwars: Self-Defence Against Psyops, Propaganda and Mind Control, by Kaleb Gorman (Amazon)
Psychological Warfare, RAND Corporation

About this Episode’s Guest Kaleb Gorman
Kaleb is a psychologist and writer from Canada. Somewhat of a contrarian. Trying to make sense of the overload of information, culture wars, and mass formations with which we are constantly bombarded. No ideological home but partial to liberal, humanist values. Skepticism > certainty.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: A Transplant Surgeon Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 04:16:55 GMT

Dr. David Weill joins Tim to talk about those life-saving transplant surgeries, the patients, the system for care and the challenges it faces, and what it’s like to be a doctor of second chances. Dr. Weill was the Director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease, and the Lung Transplant Program at Stanford. Today he operates the Weill Consulting Group, where he focuses on improving the delivery of transplant care. This episode was first released December 13, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_A_Transplant_Surgeon_Story.mp3

The first time doctors were able to transplant a human organ happened in 1954. That’s when a kidney was transplanted successfully. In the decades to come, medical pioneers would master the medical art of transplanting livers, lungs, hearts, pancreases and other vital organs.

While these surgeries are never described as routine, they are no longer uncommon.

In the early years, individual hospitals and certain organizations managed everything from organ recovery, to transport, to transplantation. In between, they had to learn how to allocate valuable, life-saving organs for the most viable patients.

In some respects, not much has changed, and that’s a problem.

Dr. David Weill has spent his career in organ transplantation with a focus on lungs helping those with severe lung disease.

He ran the Lung Transplant Program at Stanford, and he wrote a book called “Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant.”
Links

Weill Consulting Group (website)
Dr. David Weill, Tulane Medicine website
Supply Isn’t the Problem with Organ Transplants, Wall Street Journal
Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant, by Dr. David Weill (Barnes & Noble)
Opinion: Of course unvaccinated people should be barred from receiving transplant organs, Washington Post

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. David Weill
Dr. David Weill has been in the forefront of developing and running some of the most successful lung transplant programs in the country. He served as Director of the Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center from 2005-2016. He also developed the Stanford Center for Advanced Lung Disease which provides care for hundreds of patients with cystic fibrosis, interstitial fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and emphysema. During this period, he also directed a rebuilding effort of the lung transplant program, producing some of the best outcomes in the country, while increasing the transplant program volume more than three-fold.

In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Weill has testified before the U.S. Congress regarding occupational lung diseases. He has also published extensively in the medical literature regarding lung transplantation, occupational lung disease and advanced lung disease.

He and his wife Jackie recently moved to his hometown of New Orleans with their two daughters.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

13Q: A Top 40 Radio Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 04:16:46 GMT

This is a Special Edition of the Shaping Opinion Podcast called “13Q: A Top 40 Radio Story.” In this extended episode (90 minutes), we take you back to when it was all about the music, when radio was everywhere. A time when it was all about the culture, but mostly it was about having fun. In this episode, we talk to the people who were behind the mic and in front of it, telling at least a part of the story of one generation. We do it by telling the story of the last big Top 40 radio station in the form of 13Q, Pittsburgh. It was around for only a short time, but its impact would be felt for decades.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/13Q_-_Top_40_Radios_Last_Dance_auphonic.mp3

Cecil Heftel was born in Chicago on September 30th, 1924. He died at the ripe old age of 85 in 2010. later. He did many things in that time, but our focus here is on just one of those things.

Heftel is best remembered as a congressman from Hawaii, where he served from 1977 to 1986. But his story started long before that.

Heftel made a name for himself as an innovator in Top 30 radio when he bought a Denver station called KIMN. That station became #1 in its market and then he sold it in 1960 before moving to Hawaii.

13Q music survey 1974

In 1973, he got back in the radio game when he bought a Fort Lauderdale radio station on the FM dial – WHYI-FM and he re-named it Y-100. That same year, he bought an AM news/talk station in Pittsburgh called WJAS. That’s when things would change. Cecil Heftel was coming to Pittsburgh and winning was the only option.

On March 12th 1973, Heftel rocked the Pittsburgh radio world when he introduced Pittsburghers to something they had never heard before. A Top-40 rock station that didn’t go by call letters, but by a number and a letter. 13Q. And a kind of Top 40 sound…well…you just had to hear it.

This wasn’t your father’s Top 40 radio. Starting in 1973 and for just a short eight years, 1320 on the AM dial would be WKTQ – 13Q – and would leave its mark on the region’s baby boom generation that was still in school or just coming of age.

Heftel owned and operated his stations from Honolulu, Hawaii. At 13Q, he said he couldn’t find the local people he wanted, so he turned to out-of-towners. His initial line-up was:

Sam Holman, who used to work for cross-town rival KQV. Holman came back to Pittsburgh from Chicago to man the mic for morning drive.
Dennis Waters came to Pittsburgh from Washington, D.C., to handle mid-days.
Mark Driscoll was recruited from LA to handle the afternoon and evening drive.
Jackson Armstrong, brought his one-man wrecking ball of a show into the studio at 6 p.m.
And two guys came to Pittsburgh via Phoenix. Batt Johnson took to the mic from 10 p.m. – 2:00 a.m., and Dave Brooks held the fort overnight from 2-6 a.m.

The sound, the format, the call letters, the brand and the team were all the work of a radio legend who went by the name of Buzz Bennett. Cecil Heftel wanted a winner, so he hired a winner to put it all together.

Buzz Bennett was born for a life in radio. He was a Baltimore kid who at 13 years old, finagled his way onto Baltimore’s big TV dance show, The Buddy Deane Show. Before long, he was a dancer on the show and helping vet the show’s music.

13Q Radio studios in the Kossman Building in Downtown Pittsburgh, circa 1973.

He parlayed his success as a teenager to the point where he was a program director and a DJ at a radio station in Arkansas at the age of 16. The radio world took notice.

After such early success, he made stops back in Baltimore and then around the country, learning the ins and outs of radio from Top 40 pioneers and legendary programmers, until one day, he became a legend himself. He was an innovator in his own right.

Everywhere he went, his stations won, they won big, they dominated their markets.

13Q would take over the Pittsburgh Top 40 radio mark, knocking KQV Radio off of its perch.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Who was Christopher Columbus?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 04:16:22 GMT

In this special Columbus Day encore episode, Professor William J. Connell, who is an expert on Italian history, joins Tim to talk about the life of Christopher Columbus. Bill is an Andrew Carnegie Fellow and holder of the La Motta Endowed Chair in Italian History at Seton Hall University. He’s also the co-editor of the Routledge History of Italian Americans. In this episode, we’ll learn about Christopher Columbus, and as cliché as it may sound, the man, the myth, the legend. This episode was initially published on July 20, 2020.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/133_-_Who_Was_Christopher_Columbus.mp3

Christopher Columbus was an explorer who made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain, but he was not Spanish. He was Italian. He made those trips in 1492, in 1493, again in 1498, and then in 1502.

The purpose of his maiden voyage was to find a direct over sea route from the western part of Europe to Asia. In that sense, he failed. But as with many explorers, inventors and discoverers, what they find in the course of their failures sometimes leaves a legacy that they themselves never could have imagined.

Christopher Columbus may not have actually been the first non-native person to step foot on what would become the Americas, but one thing is clear. It was Christopher Columbus who changed the course of history when he came upon the New World, already occupied by millions of people, but unknown to Western Civilization.

Dr. William Connell of Seton Hall University has spent a good deal of his career studying and teaching the complexities and the nuances of the Christopher Columbus story. As a historian, he has kept the first rule of the study of history in mind. You can’t judge the past based on present-day perspectives.
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus, the son of a wool merchant, was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451.

When he was still a teenager, he took a job on a merchant ship. He remained at sea until 1476, when pirates attacked his ship as it sailed north along the Portuguese coast.

The boat sank, but the young Columbus floated to shore on a scrap of wood and made his way to Lisbon, where he eventually studied mathematics, astronomy, cartography and navigation.

He also began to hatch the plan that would make him famous.
The Attraction of a New Trading Route
During the 15th and 16th (1400s and 1500s) centuries, Europeans led expeditions overseas in the hope that explorers would find riches and new lands. The Portuguese were the earliest participants in this age.

Around 1420, small Portuguese ships went along the African coast, carrying spices, gold, slaves and other goods from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Other European nations, including Spain, wanted to share in the exotic riches of the “Far East.”

In the 15th century (1400s), Spain expelled Jews and Muslims from the kingdom after centuries of war. Set its sights elsewhere.
Trade Routes
At the end of the 15th century, you couldn’t reach Asia from Europe by land. The route was long and arduous, hostile armies. Portuguese explorers used the sea: They sailed south along the West African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope.

Columbus had his own ideas: Sail out across the Atlantic to the West in the opposite direction.

Instead of around the massive African continent. His point was that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller than his contemporaries believed it was.

He thought the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible, but comparatively easy via an as-yet undiscovered passage.

He pitched his ideas to leaders in Portugal and England but no one took him up on his plan. In 1492 he found a likeminded resource -Spanish royalty Ferdinand and Isabella.

Columbus’s contract with the Spanish rulers promised that he could keep 10 percent of whatever riches he found, along with a noble title and the governorship of any lands he should encounter.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Fr. Vincent Lampert: An American Exorcist

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 04:16:43 GMT

Catholic priest and exorcist Fr. Vincent Lampert joins Tim to talk about his work as an exorcist, and we separate myth and fiction from reality. In 2005, Fr. Lampert was assigned to serve as an exorcist from his base in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. At the time, there were only 12 priests in America who were exorcists. Now, there are over 100.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/American_Exorcist_auphonic.mp3

You may not need anyone to explain to you what an exorcist is supposed to do. If you’ve watched certain movies or documentaries or read articles and books on the topic, it is pretty self-evident. Exorcists work to drive demons out of people. Not figurative demons but real ones.

Now, the very idea of what I just said will put people into two camps. Those who believe demons are real, and those who believe demons are the stuff of Hollywood and fiction. Campfire stories. Tall tales.

As with other episodes we’ve done on sensitive topics, nothing we say here is designed to change how you feel about the subject at hand. But we will seek a greater understanding of the issue from someone who is on the front lines.

Indianapolis Archbishop Daniel Buechlein appointed Fr. Lampert to his ministry as an exorcist 18 years ago. To fulfill his responsibilities, he trained at the North American College in Rome and assisted with more than 40 exorcisms with longtime Italian exorcist Father Carmine De Filippi.

While Fr. Lampert is based in Indiana, he travels around the globe, waging war against the devil himself.
Links

Fr. Lampert Bio (parish website)
Exorcism: The Battle Between Satan and his Demons, by Fr. Vincent Lampert (Amazon)
The World of the Occult, by Fr. Vincent Lampert (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology)
For Halloween, We Spoke with a Real-life Exorcist, The Georgetowner

About this Episode’s Guest Fr. Vincent Lampert
Fr. Vincent P. Lampert is the Pastor of St. Michael and St. Peter Parishes in Brookville, Indiana. In 2005 he was appointed the Exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He received his training in Rome and is a member of the International Association of Exorcists. He is the author of Exorcism: The Battle Against Satan and His Demons.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Joe Goldberg: Propaganda

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 04:16:35 GMT

Former CIA propaganda operative, author and college professor Joe Goldberg joins Tim to talk about his time in the CIA, and then a wide-ranging discussion on propaganda, the media, social media and ultimately about trust. Joe writes best-selling novels that are often based on his experiences in the CIA. But today, we’ll focus on real life.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Joe_Golberg_CIA_II_auphonic.mp3

Joe Goldberg has been with the CIA in a variety of capacities. He’s been a corporate intelligence director. And he’s been an international political consultant. In that capacity, he has consulted on numerous international presidential, prime minister and legislative elections. At the moment, he’s a college professor and an author.

As an author, in 2014, Joe published the novel Secret Wars: An Espionage Story. In 2021, he published an Amazon best-seller called The Spy Devils.

While Joe’s interests and activities are many and diverse, they all trace back to the time he decided to join up with the CIA.
Links

Joe Goldberg's Website
The Social Dilemma (documentary) Website
Who Was Walter Cronkite?, University of Oregon

About this Episode’s Guest Joe Goldberg
Joe Goldberg has been a CIA covert action officer, corporate intelligence director, international political consultant, and currently is a college instructor and writer.

His work at the CIA garnered three Exceptional Performance Awards. In the private sector, as leader of Corporate Intelligence at Motorola, Joe received the Meritorious Award recognizing a single individual who has made significant contributions to the intelligence profession. He had consulted on numerous international presidential, prime minister, and legislative elections.

Joe Goldberg is the award-winning and Amazon best-selling author of Secret Wars: An Espionage Story and The Spy Devils thriller series. Devil’s Own Day, the third book in the series, will be published on November 14, 2023. He has been a CIA covert action officer, corporate intelligence director, and an international political campaign consultant. He is currently a college instructor and writer. A native of Iowa, he loves cooking, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and his family. He resides in a suburb of Chicago, most likely listening to Jimmy Buffett music.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Rick Porrello: The Ballad of Danny Greene

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 04:16:07 GMT

Author Rick Porrello joins Tim to talk about his book that tells of story of the notorious and now legendary Danny Greene, who tried to take down the mafia in Cleveland in life, and may have done it in death. Rick was the chief of a suburban Cleveland police department, and over the years he has written a number of best-selling books about murder, the mafia and organized crime. The book we’re going to talk about today was even turned into a major Hollywood motion picture. That book is, “To Kill the Irishman.”

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Rick_Porrello_-_Ballad_of_Danny_Greene_auphonic.mp3

When most people think of the mafia, organized crime, gangsters, they have a few eras and places in mind. First, it may be the Prohibition Era from 1920 to 1933, where gangs made millions off of bootleg whiskey and alcohol, illegally, of course.

And they left in their wake a trail of death and blood in the streets of Chicago, New York and other cities. Mobsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger became larger than life celebrities for a time. And they became legends through newspaper and media coverage, books and film.

When you think of the mafia, you may have in your mind the world of Don Corleone and his family at the center of the Godfather films, or all those Martin Scorsese movies about the underworld.

Any number of books and documentaries documented the realities, the myths and the stories of La Cosa Nostra – the mafia – and organized crime figures.

Hardly ever, however, do you hear about how some of these stories center on places like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo or Cleveland. But at its peak, it was everywhere there was money to be made, and these were some of the cities helping them make it.

And yet, in the end, it may have been one story out of Cleveland that changed everything.

Our guest today has an interesting perspective on all of this. He was in law enforcement for decades. He also had a unique family history.
Links

Rick Porrello's Website
The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia, by Rick Porrello (Amazon)
To Kill the Irishman, by Rick Porrello (Amazon)
Rick Porrello on Facebook

Dedication
This episode is dedicated to Ray Stevenson, who played Danny Greene in the "Kill the Irishman" motion picture. Ray died suddenly and unexpectedly earlier in 2023.
About this Episode’s Guest Rick Porrello
Author, drummer, and former police chief Rick Porrello has a knack for writing books that attract interest from filmmakers. Hollywood snapped up To Kill the Irishman—the War that Crippled the Mafia before it was even published, and turned it into the movie Kill the Irishman, starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer. A motion picture based on Superthief — A Master Burglar, the Mafia, and the Biggest Bank Burglary in U.S. History is in development. Both books have also generated documentaries.

Rick’s first career was as a jazz drummer. At the age of 18, he got his first big break when he started touring internationally with Sammy Davis, Jr. Despite a skyrocketing music career, Rick decided to trade his sticks for a badge, which had been his dream since childhood. What followed was a 33-year career as a police officer in Greater Cleveland, with the last ten of those years as chief of police.

As an organized crime historian, Rick Porrello’s perspective is an intriguing one. He began writing his first book during family research into the murders of his grandfather and three uncles, all of whom, he learned, were mob leaders killed in Prohibition-era violence. The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia quickly became a regional favorite and has endured as a backlist title.

When he isn’t hammering out his next book, co-authoring a screenplay, serving as a consulting or executive producer, or drumming with a number of bands, Porrello gives presentations on his books and on his writing and publishing journey.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

LOST: 18 Million Military Records Go Up in Smoke

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 04:16:42 GMT

Journalist Megan Greenwell joins Tim to talk about her comprehensive reporting for Wired Magazine on the 1973 St. Louis Military Records Fire where in two days, the nation lost the only roughly 18 million records of U.S. military personnel from the first half of the 20th Century. Back when paper was the primary way we kept records, the archives contained the data on millions of military personnel from U.S. military personnel going back to 1912. Megan talks about the fire, the people still working to preserve those documents, restore them and extract information from them, and through it all, her personal connection to this story.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/St._Louis_Fire_auphonic.mp3

Not long after World War II, in 1951, the Department of Defense decided to create the National Personnel Records Center to store personnel records for the military. The DOD joined with the St. Louis Federal Records Center and the General Services Administration to build a facility to house those records in St. Louis.

The military records represented those who served in the American military or in federal civil service, starting in 1912. The National Archives and Records Administration would oversee the data.

The DOD had similar facilities for the Navy and other records in New York, and in Alexandria, Virginia, respectively. Here’s the thing. In one of those facilities, they installed sprinkler systems for fire suppression. In the other, they did not install sprinkler systems for fear that if the sprinkler system went off due to a malfunction or false alarm, records could be damaged or destroyed.

In the new facility in St. Louis, the DOD decided to go with a design that excluded sprinkler systems, and heat and smoke detectors.

Each floor of the facility featured large open spaces for records storage without firewalls or other measures to contain a fire.

The St. Louis records storage facility sat on 70 acres, and had six floors. It was built of concrete, and sat under a roof that was supported by concrete columns. Walls were of aluminum and glass.

The building was completed in 1956 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When it opened, the building contained roughly 38 million military personnel records.

Technology didn’t change much over the next 17 years, at least in how the DOD stored personnel records. Paper.

So, fast forward to 1973. Starting on July 12th, 1973, a fire would erupt at the building and last for four days. By 1973, the building housed over 52 million records. 52 million individual pieces of American history. And as mentioned, almost 18 million of those records were lost.

And that’s where our story begins. Megan Greenwell is a journalist who likes a challenge. So, she decided to dig into the story as any old-time journalist would. Lots of shoe leather.
Links

Megan Greenwell (Website)
Megan Greenwell (Wired Page)
The Night 17 Million Precious Military Records Went Up in Smoke, Wired
The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center, The National Archives

If you have a question about your own or a family member's records or want to explore the process of requesting military records, this is the U.S. Veterans Administration starting point:

Reconstruct Military Records Destroyed In NPRC Fire | Veterans Affairs (va.gov)

About this Episode’s Guest Megan Greenwell
Megan Greenwell a freelance editor and writer with extensive experience in all areas of print and digital media. Currently freelancing, she divides her time between writing, editing, consulting, and teaching. She is particularly passionate about narrative features, exploring new revenue models for journalism, leading teams working across platforms, collaborations between text-based and visual storytellers, and diversifying newsrooms. She also writes features about public policy, sports, and other topics. She is considered a leader within the media industry on recruiting and hiring a dive...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Dr. Mark Pickering: Human Euthanasia is Here

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 04:16:46 GMT

Dr. Mark Pickering joins Tim to talk about the disturbing spread of and interest in human euthanasia throughout western cultures, particularly in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Mark is a general practitioner of family medicine. He focuses his work on prisons and other similarly secure facilities. In addition, he is the head of the Christian Medical Fellowship in the United Kingdom. In this conversation, we talk about the myths and the realities of assisted suicide.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Human_Euthanasia_is_Here_auphonic.mp3

In 1997, the state of Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, which allowed the medically assisted suicide for people who were terminally ill. Since that time, over 3,280 people received prescriptions for legal doses of medications under the act’s provisions. The state reports that of those who received prescriptions, 2,159 people actually took the medications and died from the lethal dosages.

Since 1942, the nation of Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide. But according to the government, it only allows this form of euthanasia so long as, “the motives are not selfish.”

Closer to home, in Canada in 2016, the Canadian government legalized medical assistance in dying. The acronym for this is MAID.

The Canadian Supreme Court had decided that existing laws that prohibited assisted suicide were an afront to individual rights.

Here’s how the MAID program started. Medical professionals - doctors and nurses - would administer lethal injections or fatal medications to patients who met a specific criteria.

The individual had to have a serious illness or disability; the individual had to be in what the government described as an “advanced state” of decline that could not be reversed; the individual had to be experiencing unbearable physical or mental suffering; or the individual had to be at the point where natural death had become “reasonably foreseeable.”

Notice that nowhere in Canada’s original requirements did the individual have to be terminally ill.

But that was just the beginning. Before long, anyone who wanted help with suicide was able to get it. Canadians who were depressed, stressed, or just economically poor or in a state of mental distress could get help with their own suicide.

In 2021, the government relaxed the condition that that natural death must be “reasonably foreseeable.”

After that, the stories of Canadians being presented with suicide as a medical option included some who were just temporarily homeless or in some kind of pain that otherwise could be treated.

Consider the story of Alan Nichols. When he was a child, he lost his hearing. He had had a stroke. But overall, at 61 years old, he was able to live on his own.

Then in 2019 he was admitted to the hospital over concerns that he might be at risk of committing suicide. He was mentally unstable. Not in his right mind. While he was in the hospital, he pleaded with his brother Gary to get him out of the Canadian hospital.

Over the course of the next four weeks, he then was reported to have applied for medically assisted suicide under the MAID program. The only medical condition he listed as his reason for wanting to die was being hard of hearing.

Instead of treating Nichols’ obvious mental instability, the hospital supported his desire to kill himself and provided its own justification. It said Nichols had some vision loss, that he was frail, that he had a history of seizures and in their words, he had a “failure to thrive,” whatever that means.

The hospital framed the process as Nichols requesting to die by lethal injection, and it saw that rationale as valid. The procedure was carried out expeditiously.

When the Associated Press talked to Nichols’ brother Gary, he said that his brother Alan, “was basically put to death.”

Inmates on death row are forced to wait much longer.

Mark Pickering is on the front lines of this issue.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Helio Fred Garcia: Ethics & Crisis Communication

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 04:16:36 GMT

Author, professor and crisis communicator Helio Fred Garcia joins Tim to talk about ethics and crisis communications. Fred has had a long career at the highest levels advising organizations of all sizes on crisis communications and crisis management matters. In this conversation, we Fred tells his story, and he talks candidly about the kinds of ethical issues and dilemmas those of us in the crisis communications field face every day.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Helio_Fred_Garcia_Ethics_auphonic.mp3

Before we meet our guest today, it may be worth setting the stage by giving you a little background on what exactly we mean when we talk about crisis communications or crisis management.

Sometimes, people think a crisis is when something goes wrong at work, or when an organization’s social media page gets bombarded with negative feedback. To be sure, these can certainly be indicators of a crisis, but they are not crises in themselves. In other words, a bad day for a company or an organization does not a crisis make.

At the same time, no company or organization is immune from crises. A crisis is when something happens, could happen or may happen where the very operations of the organization are threatened. Here are some examples:

A bankruptcy filing;
A labor strike;
A train derailment;
A chemical spill;
A boycott of a famous brand;
Sexual harassment allegations;
Major litigation – you get sued;
Or, a viral social media post that totally disrupts the organization.

These are just some examples. For the past 35 years, I’ve been one of those in the public relations fields who handles such crises. In that time, I’ve handled hundreds of crises for clients. I’ve seen it done right, and I’ve seen crises handled horribly.

Over the years, I’ve become aware of others in the crisis communications field who’ve built strong reputations for themselves in the process. Helio Fred Garcia is one of those people. When we sat down for this interview, I wanted to know his whole story, and he told me. But my first question could best be described as “inside baseball” from one crisis communicator to another. I wanted to know what Fred saw as the more common myths surrounding crisis communications and crisis management.
Links

Logos Consulting (Website)
The Essential Crisis Communications Plan: A Crisis Management Process that Fits Your Culture, by Tim O'Brien (Amazon)

About this Episode’s Guest Helio Fred Garcia
For more than 40 years Helio Fred Garcia has helped leaders build trust, inspire loyalty, and lead effectively. He is a coach, counselor, teacher, writer, and speaker whose clients include some of the largest and best-known companies and organizations in the world.

He is the author, most recently, of Words on Fire: The Power of Incendiary Language and How to Confront It, published by Radius Book Group in 2020. He is also the author The Agony of Decision: Mental Readiness and Leadership in a Crisis, Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership Press, 2017. Prior to this, Fred wrote The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively, FT Press, 2012.

Fred is president of the crisis management firm Logos Consulting Group and executive director of the Logos Institute for Crisis Management & Executive Leadership. He is based in New York and has worked with clients in dozens of countries on six continents.

Fred has coached more than 400 CEOs of major corporations, plus thousands of other high-profile people in other complex fields, including doctors, scientists, lawyers, financial executives, military officers, and government officials. In the 1980s he worked at leading public relations firms and served as head of public relations for a global investment bank and for a large public accounting firm. Through the 1990s Fred headed the crisis practice of a leading strategic communication consulting firm.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Seth Shostak – Is There Life in Outer Space?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 04:16:36 GMT

Seth Shostak joins Tim to talk about the serious scientific search for intelligent life beyond Earth. Seth is the senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, which was created by NASA and is located in Silicon Valley. It is dedicated to the search for life beyond Earth. In this episode, Seth talks about what we’re learning about the potential for finding intelligent life, not only within our solar system, but well beyond it. This episode was first released on November 21, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Life_in_Outer_Space.mp3

The SETI Institute was created on November 20th, 1984 as part of NASA.

NASA located it close to its Ames Research Center in Northern California. Its mission has been as ominous as it has been ambitious, to look for intelligent life beyond our planet.

Before the SETI Institute, NASA had funded a small project in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, but it quickly realized the job was bigger than it had anticipated. NASA wanted to find ways to put more money into research without too much overhead.

That led to the idea of creating a nonprofit organization that would focus on research and education around the search for extra-terrestrial life beyond Earth.

This vision was born in 1984 with the founding of the SETI Institute.

Since then, the SETI Institute has spun out from NASA and has grown in many ways.

Seth Shostak is the Institute’s senior astronomer. In addition to his work on the Institute’s research programs, he’s also an author on books about astrobiology. He’s published hundreds of articles, and he’s a regular contributor to NBC News. He’s also the host of the SETI Institute’s weekly science radio show called, “Big Picture Science.”
Please Thank Our Sponsors
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Links

The SETI Institute (website)
Seth Shostak (website)
Big Picture Science Radio Show and Podcast
Contact (motion picture), IMDb
The Drake Equation, SETI Institute
Allen Telescope Array, SETI Institute
James Webb Space Telescope, NASA

About this Episode’s Guest Seth Shostak
Seth Shostak directs the search for extraterrestrials at the SETI Institute in California – trying to find evidence of intelligent life in space. He is also committed to getting the public, especially young people, excited about astrobiology and science in general.

Seth is the host of “Big Picture Science,” the SETI Institute’s weekly radio show. The one-hour program uses interviews with leading researchers and lively and intelligent storytelling to tackle such big questions as: What came before the big bang? How does memory work? Will our descendants be human or machine? What’s the origin of humor? Big Picture Science can be found in iTunes and other podcast sites.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: James Fallon – The Psychopath Next Door

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 04:16:43 GMT

Author and neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon joins Tim to talk about the dark side of the human brain and how common psychopathy may really be throughout society. And his story has a twist. Dr. Fallon is a neuroscientist, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and an author of the book, “The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain.” This episode was originally released on October 25, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Psychopath_Next_Door.mp3

I’m going to say a word, and I want you to focus on the first thing that comes to mind. Are you ready? OK, here’s the word.

Psychopath.

What came to mind. Did you think about a killer? Perhaps a serial killer?

It makes sense. Many, if not most of the most notorious serial killers in history were psychopaths. Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahmer. David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam. Edmund Kemper, who we discussed on last week’s episode with Justin from the Generation Why Podcast.

These were all famous serial killers. And they were all psychopaths.

So, what exactly is a psychopathic personality?

That’s one of the first questions I had to ask Dr. James Fallon. He’s a neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine.

He’s done extensive research in this area, and he’s the author of a book called, “The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain.”
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Please remember to thank our sponsors, without whom the Shaping Opinion podcast would not exist. If you have the need, please support these organizations that have the same taste in podcasts that you do:

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Links

The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist’s Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain, by James Fallon (Barnes & Noble)
Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell, by Elaine Forman Crane (Barnes & Noble)
James Fallon, Ph.D., (University of California, Irvine)
The Neuroscientist Who Discovered He was a Psychopath, Smithsonian
Lizzie Borden, The Crime Museum
The 1673 Murder of Rebecca Cornell and the ‘Good Fire,’ New England Historical Society

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. James Fallon
James Fallon, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of California, Irving. He has several areas of expertise, including adult stem cells, psychiatry, and the relationships between brain imaging, genetics and a range of psychiatric conditions. These include schizophrenia, depression, addictions and psychopathy.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Justin from the Generation Why Podcast

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 04:16:38 GMT

Justin from the popular true crime podcast called Generation Why joins Tim to talk about America’s obsession with true crime and his podcast’s role in shaping the growing genre. Justin and his best friend and co-host Aaron launched their podcast in 2012, helping to pioneer the true crime podcasting. This episode was first released on October 18, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Justing_from_Generation_Why.mp3

For a lot of people when they think of podcasts, they think of true crime. And for a lot of people, when they think of true crime, they think of podcasts.

Aaron (left) and Justin (right) from Generation Why

But it’s not just podcasts. True crime magazines were a thing for well over 50 years. TV programs like Dateline have made true crime their focus for decades. Streamers have produced a steady stream of documentaries like “Making a Murderer,” and then there are the motion pictures and the streaming dramas, like “Mindhunter.”

In the podcasting world, true crime continues to be one of the fastest-growing genres.

And as we’ve already mentioned, the Generation Why podcast has pioneered the form. Generation Why released its first episode in 2012. It’s co-hosted by best-friends Aaron Habel and Justin Evans.

Each week, they select a specific case, almost always involving a murder or a missing person, to study and analyze, and perhaps most importantly, help the listener come to their own conclusions.

About four years into their own podcasting journey, Justin and Aaron saw a boost in listener interest when a podcast called “Serial” hit the scene. Serial is largely credited for helping to blast off podcasting to a new level of popularity and awareness.

The Generation Why podcast remains one of the top true crime podcasts today.
Please Thank Our Sponsors
Please remember to thank our sponsors, without whom the Shaping Opinion podcast would not exist. If you have the need, please support these organizations that have the same taste in podcasts that you do:

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Links

Generation Why Podcast (website)
This American Life Podcast (website)
Joe Rogan Experience Podcast (website)
WTF with Marc Maron (Marc Maron podcast)
Podcast Audiences: Why are Women Such Big Fans of True Crime Podcasts, BrandWatch (this is the article Tim mentioned in the episode

Music Credits for this Episode
The following tracks are featured in this episode under the terms of Creative Commons via the Free Music Archive:

Deep by Bio Unit
Death Note by Audiobinger
PointsOfView by Ketsa
Agency by Metre
Apogee by Metre
Sidewinder by Frequency Decree
Insomnia by VibesByDRVN

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: NASA’s Jim Green – Revealing the Secrets of Mars

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 04:16:27 GMT

NASA’s Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Green joins Tim to talk about big plans for the red planet, Mars. Jim has had a long and distinguished career on some of the agency’s major research projects and missions that have explored the rest of our solar system, from Mars to Pluto. In this episode, Jim gets into detail on what we have learned, can learn and will learn from Earth’s next door neighbor. He uncovers some of the secrets of Mars. This episode was originally released on September 27, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Life_on_Mars.mp3

Next to the Moon and the Sun, the most captivating celestial bodies in our night sky for mankind over thousands and thousands of years has been Mars. The red planet. The fourth rock from the sun.

So, it made sense when we started to make plans for space travel, Mars would figure prominently into those plans.

As far back as the inception of both the Soviet and American space programs in the late 1950s and early 1960s, space scientist started making plans to explore Mars.

By July 4, 1997, NASA was able to land a spacecraft on Mars. The Mars Pathfinder was launched on December 4th 1996. Six months later, it landed on Mars.

The unit featured the first-ever robotic rover that sent an unprecedented amount of data on the planet back to scientists at NASA.

After that, there were other missions, which included Mars orbiters, landers, and excavators. And the United States hasn’t been the only country working to explore the planet.

The Soviet Union, then Russia, then China, then India, and even the United Arab Emirates have launched missions to Mars.

Each time, we learn something new and something significant about Mars. But in the end, there is one question that continues to drive mankind’s quest to visit Mars. Is there life on that planet, and if so, what does it look like?

Jim Green has worked to find the answers to this and many other questions throughout his career as a scientist at NASA.
Links

NASA’s Mars Exploration Program
James L. Green, NASA
Why We Explore Mars, National Geographic
Nicolaus Copernicus, History.com
Jezero Crater – Mars, NASA

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. Jim Green

Dr. Jim Green
Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Jim Green received his Ph.D. in Space Physics from the University of Iowa in 1979 and began working in the Magnetospheric Physics Branch at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in 1980. At Marshall, Dr. Green developed and managed the Space Physics Analysis Network, which provided many scientists, all over the world, with rapid access to data, other scientists, and specific NASA computer and information resources. In addition, Dr. Green was a safety diver in the Neutral Buoyancy tank making over 150 dives until he left MSFC in 1985.

From 1985 to 1992 he was the Head of the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The NSSDC is NASA’s largest space science data archive. In 1992 he became the Chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office until 2005 when he became the Chief of the Science Proposal Support Office. While at GSFC, Dr. Green was also co-investigator and the Deputy Project Scientist on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) mission. From 1992 to 2000 he was also the Deputy Project Scientist for Mission Operations and Data Analysis for the Global Geospace Science Missions

WIND and POLAR. He has written over 110 scientific articles in referred journals involving various aspects of the Earth’s and Jupiter’s magnetospheres and over 50 technical articles on various aspects of data systems and computer networks.

From August 2006 to April 2018 Dr. Green was the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. Under his leadership several missions have been successfully executed, including the New Horizons spacecraft flyby of Pluto,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Rob Tate: It’s Not That Complicated

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 04:16:21 GMT

TV and film director Rob Tate joins Tim to talk about his documentary called “The Magic Pill” that was released in 2017 and has built a strong audience on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Why? Because it takes a look at you and me, what we eat, and our health. And it puts it all together into some simple lessons that will make you think twice before that next trip to the grocery store or the restaurant.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Rob_Tate_-_Magic_Pill_auphonic.mp3

Before we get started, I need to tell you that this episode is not another lecture on your diet or health. It’s not an attempt to change anything about you. But after you listen, you may think twice before you make that next trip to your fridge.

The film we’re going to talk about today is called The Magic Pill, but as the title somewhat sarcastically infers, there isn’t one. There is no magic pill you can take to prevent or address the full range of health problems or disease you could face. Or is there?

The film poses some timeless questions. What if most of our modern diseases are just symptoms of the same underlying problem? And what if our diet, what we eat is both the cause and can be the cure?

Our guest today, Rob Tate allowed those questions to guide him around the world to seek answers, and the ones he received were not totally surprising, but they do go against much of what we are told by the health establishment today.

Yes, diet is critical to our health. But what kind of diet? How can the diet we’ve been told to follow hurt us?
Links

Rob Tate Website
The Magic Pill, IMDB

Healthy Macadamia Nut Bread Recipe
Nutritional Values per Loaf: calories 3,183
INGREDIENTS

150g / 5.3oz Macadamia Nuts or Macadamia Butter
20g / 7.76oz Coconut Butter (also known as Manna)
6g / 0.2oz Baking Soda
3g / 0.1oz Pink Himalayan Salt
60ml / 2fl oz Lemon Juice
5 eggs (circa 50g each) TOOLS Batter Bowl
Silicone Spatula
Loaf Tin
Coconut Oil Spray
Hand Mixer
High Speed Blender (to make nut butter)

This is the bread recipe from "The Magic Pill" from Sara.
About this Episode’s Guest Rob Tate
Rob Tate (Executive Producer / Director / Editor) has won the Emmy, Cine Golden Eagle, James Beard, and the IDA (International Documentary Association) awards for his various projects, including the PBS international documentary series, GOURMET'S DIARY OF A FOODIE and the Sundance Channel documentary series, ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, which Time Magazine hailed as one of the Top Ten TV series of 2008.

Rob also co-produced, shot and edited the independent feature fashion industry documentary, ELEVEN MINUTES, released by Regent Pictures, which Variety called a “skillfully crafted, beautifully shot and edited pic.” He is currently an EP of the PBS series, MOVEABLE FEAST, and the Australian food series, THE PALEO WAY WITH PETE EVANS. THE MAGIC PILL is Rob’s second feature documentary.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Brady Crytzer: A Rebellion that Defined America

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 04:16:27 GMT

Historian and author Brady Crytzer joins Tim to talk about his latest book on one of the lesser known stories of early America…the Whiskey Rebellion. Brady is the author of “The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis.” It comes along at a time when our newly formed republic was still in its infancy. Well not quite infancy. If the Civil War was America’s rebellious teen years, then the Whiskey Rebellion was our country’s Terrible Twos.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Brady_Crytzer_-_Whiskey_Rebellion_auphonic.mp3

It’s probably not an overstatement to say that a good number of Americans today never heard of Alexander Hamilton until the hit Broadway musical called Hamilton hit the stage in 2015. They may not even realize that he’s the face they see on the front of the ten-dollar bills they spend. And even they do know of Alexander Hamilton, some think he was one our first presidents.

Such is life in America in 2023. But the fact that we’re still talking about the man says something of the impact he had on the shaping of the nation.

We’re going to talk about a piece of his legacy, and that of George Washington and others, in the context of a true insurrection. In March of 1791, U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed a domestic tax that sent shockwaves through the Western Frontier and sparked an insurrection.

At that time, the Western frontier was western Pennsylvania, an area known in Philadelphia as the Ohio Territories. Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland.

What Hamilton proposed was an excise tax on whiskey. His goal was to balance America’s national debt in the wake of the Revolutionary War and the country’s battle for independence.

The law he sponsored was called the Whiskey Act, and it penalized famers in the backcountry, while playing favorites with large distillers.

It’s may be hard for Americans to understand today, but ultimately the controversy centered on imposing federal authority over frontier settlers.

American history author Brady Crytzer says to understand why this didn’t go over well, you need to understand more about the western frontier and the times in which they lived.
Links

The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis, by Brady Crytzer (Amazon)
Brady Crytzer Website
'The Whiskey Rebellion' Review: A Young Nation, Suddenly Tested, Wall Street Journal
Whiskey Rebellion, History Channel

About this Episode’s Guest Brady Crytzer
Brady J. Crytzer teaches history at Robert Morris University. His book The Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis was listed as one of “Ten Books to Read” by the Wall Street Journal in 2023. A specialist in Frontier History Crytzer is the host of the weekly hit podcast "Dispatches: The Podcast of the Journal of the American Revolution." Crytzer has appeared on Sirius/XM and on the hit cable series Into the Wild Frontier on NBC Peacock as a narrator and consultant. He is the host of the Telly Award winning series Battlefield Pennsylvania on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. Crytzer is the winner of the Donna J. McKee and Donald S. Kelly Awards for Outstanding Scholarship and Service in History. His work has been featured in the Journal of the American Revolution, American History Magazine, American Frontiersman Magazine, The Journal of the Early Republic, Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, Game News, and Muzzleloader Magazine. His work has been reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, The Journal of Southern History, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, and The Journal of Military History.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Cordia Harrington – An American Success Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 04:16:29 GMT

One of the most successful self-made women in America (according to Forbes) Cordia Harrington joins Tim to talk about her journey and how it exemplifies the American Dream. Cordia is the founder of The Bakery Companies. It’s a Nashville-based group of companies that have made baked goods for restaurants and food companies like McDonald’s, Five Guys, and Pepperidge Farm. Last year, Forbes Magazine ranked Cordia among America’s top 100 Self-Made Women. This episode was first released February 8, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Cordia_Harrington.mp3

If I were to ask you to define the term, the “American Dream,” your answer may be different than the next person, but there is something that both definitions will have in common. It’s the assumption that thanks to the freedoms we enjoy in the United States, thanks to the Constitution that protects our freedoms, we can achieve our dreams so long as we have the right ideas and are willing to do the work.

Most people see the American Dream as a set of principles or aspirational ideals that give us the platform to achieve our own individual goals. Democracy, rights, liberty. Through the exercise of these rights, we have the chance to change our place in society and in life.

We can be upwardly mobile. We can become more prosperous and successful. And with that, we can provide for our families, our communities and live the life we want.

People who study the American Dream say its origins can be traced to the Declaration of Independence, where it says that “all men are created equal,” and that each of us has the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

But to better understand the American Dream, it is sometimes good to hear the story of someone who has lived it in a way that few have done.

Cordia Harrington is one of those people.
Links

The Bakery Cos. (website)
McDonald’s (website)
Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO website)
Cordia Harrington: Forbes Self-made Woman Ranking, Forbes
Cordia Harrington: Tennessee Bun Company, Breakthrough Master
How She Became “The Bun Lady,” CBS News

About this Episode’s Guest Cordia Harrington
Cordia Harrington is CEO and founder of The Bakery Cos., a highly-automated, high-speed baking company that bakes over 10 million baked goods daily and employs more than 800 people, serving elite customers in the United States, South America and the Caribbean. As CEO, Ms. Harrington guides the executive team to successful planning, business development, sales and marketing, and brand management.

Ms. Harrington serves on the Ascent Global Logistics Board of Directors and the Belmont University Board of Trustees. She is President of the Chief Executives Organization Board of Directors and a member of the American Bakers Association Board of Directors (President-Elect). She serves as a judge for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Award judging panel.

Under Ms. Harrington’s leadership, The Bakery Cos. have received many awards, including the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses, Business with Purpose Award, and Nashville Business Journal’s Best in Business Award. They were recently awarded Conagra Brand’s Supplier of the Year award and O’Charley’s O’ver & Above Partner Award. Ms. Harrington was listed at #93 on Forbes magazine’s list of 100 wealthiest self-made women in 2020. She was named Nashville Post’s 2020 CEO of the Year and awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Arkansas. Harrington was inducted into the American Society of Baking Hall of Fame in February 2018, and Directors & Boards magazine named her a “Director to Watch.” She received the Most Admired CEO Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nashville Business Journal in 2017 and has been recognized by numerous other organizations for her commitment to excellence and entrepreneurial spirit.

Ms. Harrington attended Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Liz Covart – Writing the Declaration of Independence

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 04:16:40 GMT

Historian Liz Covart joins Tim to discuss the events and circumstances that led to the American Revolutionary War, and the stories behind the actual drafting of the most revolutionary document ever written, The Declaration of Independence. Liz, who is also the host of the popular Ben Franklin’s World podcast, talks about the Declaration of Independence as a living, breathing document that is as relevant today as ever. This episode was originally released on June 25, 2018.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Writing_the_Declaration_of_Independence.mp3

Declaration adopted by Continental Congress July 4, 1776, but work started on it early June of that year.

Many may think the declaration preceded the fighting of the Revolutionary War, but the fighting actually had already begun in Massachusetts (April 1775 with local militia skirmishes with the British army in Lexington and Concord over rights as British subjects.)

October 1775, King George II became very outspoken against the rebellious colonies and ordered expansion of the royal army and navy. The colonies got word of this and it only caused colonies to lose hope for reconciliation.

Late 1775, Benjamin Franklin communicated with the French that the colonies were leaning towards independence and could use some help. France wouldn’t provide any support unless the colonies made it official.

Continental Congress met that winter and realized reconciliation with Britain was unlikely. It looked to them like independence was their only option.

December 22, 1775, British Parliament banned trade with the colonies. Tried to crush the resistance. Continental Congress deliberated and planned. June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee made a motion for Independence. The group could not get full consensus at that time.

The colonies were not ready, but they did form a Committee of Five to draft the Declaration, which Thomas Jefferson (Virginia) Virginia to chair. Benjamin Franklin (Pennsylvania), John Adams (Massachusetts.), Roger Sherman (Connecticut), and Robert Livingston (New York). They needed a southern colony representative, particularly a Virginian.

The drafting of the Declaration took roughly three weeks. Thomas Jefferson wrote it with input from John Adams and the others.

We talk about resources that may have served as source material, along with David McCullough’s description of Thomas Jefferson’s approach to the writing of the Declaration.

John Dunlap, official printer, worked through the night to set the Declaration in type and print roughly 200 copies. These were known as the Dunlap Broadsides sent to committees, assemblies, commanders in the Continental Army. One copy made it to King George II months later.

The introduction said independence was necessary for the colonies, the body listed grievances with the British crown, the preamble includes the most famous passage:
“In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

James Fishback: When Debate is Not Permitted

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 04:16:37 GMT

Competitive debate veteran and veteran debate coach James Fishback joins Tim to talk about free speech, and at times the lack of certain kinds of debate in high school debate. James founded an organization called Incubate Debate in 2019 after serving as a volunteer debate coach in Miami-Dade county for two-years. Prior to that, he competed in high school debate for four-years in Broward County.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Hijacking_High_School_Debate_auphonic.mp3

James Fishback started Incubate Debate, with the goal of making debate accessible to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds and political beliefs. Over the past four years, James says Incubate Debate has helped thousands of students from all over Florida through its tournaments, workshops, and camps, all at no cost.

But what caught our attention was some publicity James received when he spoke out on the issue of free speech and high school debate.

According to James, there are some points you’re just not allowed to make as a high school debater. But before we get into that, I wanted to find out more about James’ own experience with high school debate and how it’s supposed to be.
Links

Incubate Debate
At High School Debates, Debate is No Longer Allowed, The Free Press
National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA)
NSDA Statement on Its Policies (Link to Google Docs)

About this Episode’s Guest James Fishback
James Fishback founded Incubate Debate in 2019 after serving as a volunteer debate coach in Miami-Dade county for two-years and competing in high school debate for four-years in Broward County.

Both were incredible and eye-opening experiences, but ones in which he recognized tremendous issues that prevented many students from participating in and reaping the benefits of debate.

In 2019, he started Incubate Debate, with the goal of making debate accessible to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds and political beliefs. Over the past four years, Incubate has welcomed thousands of students from all over Florida to its tournaments, workshops, and camps, all at no cost.

Incubate is built on the principle of making debate easy to learn, hard to master. Through our proprietary debate formats (TownHall, Roundtable, Tribunal), Incubate is easy to learn: students get a basic understanding of the rules and processes fast, but it is hard to master because it demands a high level of skill, knowledge, and practice to be successful.

Mastering Incubate’s challenging, yet accessible style of debate requires dedication and a willingness to continually strive for improvement.
NSDA Statement
The following is the Editor's Note from The Free Press Article mentioned in the episode and linked-to above:
"One day after this story published, the NSDA released a statement on Twitter, stating in part: 'Our judge training materials in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations provide best practices for adjudicating speech and debate, such as "Judges should decide the round as it is debated, not based on their personal beliefs."...Tabroom.com is a project of the National Speech & Debate Association, and its purpose is to provide a tournament management system for debate and speech tournaments worldwide. The 47,000 judge paradigms housed therein represent the opinions and viewpoints of the individual paradigm authors. Schools or other organizations that use Tabroom.com to hire judges are free to evaluate those paradigms before engaging their services.'"

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story Behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 04:16:50 GMT

Gavin McIlvenna joins Tim on the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Gavin is president of the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Army, but one of the more unique experiences he’s had is the time he spent guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. In this episode, Gavin tells the story behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the symbolic and real significance of one of the most hallowed places on American soil. This episode was originally released on June 14th, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Story_Behind_the_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier.mp3

There are places throughout the United States where those who’ve died for their country are remembered with honor and where they remain.

Churchyard cemeteries in places like Boston and Philadelphia to honor the Revolutionary War dead. Or battlefield cemeteries like the one in Gettysburg to honor the fallen during the American Civil War.

But in America’s history, there hadn’t been a single place. A dedicated place to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedoms and for the nation.

That changed after World War One.

After the Great War, France and Great Britain decided to select one of their fallen soldiers to represent all of the dead from World War One. They laid an unknown soldier to rest in an honored place on November 11, 1920, just over 100 years ago.

Other nations followed in similar fashion. Portugal, Italy, Belgium. All selected an unknown soldier to receive full military honors and burial at an honored place in those countries.

The commanding general of American forces in France at the time was Brigadier General William Connor. He first heard about the French plans to honor their Unknown Solider during the planning phases. He liked the idea and ran it up the chain, only to be rejected by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Payton March. That was in 1919. General March felt the Americans would be able to identify all of their own dead, so there wouldn’t be any “unknown soldiers,” and he felt the U.S. had no comparable burial place for a fallen hero that was similar to Westminster Abbey in Great Britain.

But on December 20, 1921, U.S. Congressman Hamilton Fish of New York introduced a resolution that called for the return to the country of an unknown American who was killed during World War One. He wanted to bury a soldier who was killed in France, and then make plans for his burial with full military honors in a tomb that would be constructed at Arlington National Cemetery.

The tomb was built and is now located at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington Cemetery. On November 11, 1921, the body of an unidentified soldier who was killed in France, was laid to rest. He represents all of the unidentified and missing from World War One.

Since that time, an unidentified American service member has been laid to rest at that tomb, with the highest honors, representing World War Two, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. One crypt sits empty to represent all those who remain missing.

This year marks the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Please Thank Our Sponsors
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Links

Arlington National Cemetery
Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
National Commemoration of the Centennial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard

About this Episode’s Guest Gavin McIlvenna
Sergeant Major (Retired) Gavin L. McIlvenna is the 11th President of the Society of the Honor Guard,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: 9/11, As It Happened, Minute by Minute

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 04:16:00 GMT

This is a 100-minute, moment-by-moment telling of the story of September 11th 2001 “As It Happened” and the days that followed. Over the past three years, we’ve interviewed people who were there in New York, at the Pentagon and on site at that farm field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This year, we’ve talked to more people with their own personal stories of 9/11. Each provides a new perspective on the events that changed America, and their reflections now after 20 years. This episode is part of our special series, “9/11: A Generation Removed.” This episode was originally released on September 6, 2021 to mark the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_9-11_As_it_Happened.mp3

It is September 11th, 2001. All along the East Coast, the weather couldn’t be nicer. Skies pristinely blue. Temperatures are perfect for an early September day.

Millions are back from vacations and summer breaks. America is going back to work. Back to school. Back to a normal routine.

President George W. Bush starts his day at 6:30 a.m. with his daily run. He’s in Sarasota for an appearance he’s scheduled to make at a nearby elementary school at 9 a.m. Dick Keil is a former college runner and now the White House Correspondent for Bloomberg News. He has the chance to join the president on his run this morning. They talk about anything but politics.

What no one knew but would quickly learn is that this would be no normal day. Everything would change in the coming hours.

19 terrorists from the extremist group al-Qaida were already in the midst of executing a plan to hijack four commercial aircraft and crash those planes into strategic targets.

Those targets were the Pentagon, another site in Washington that no one would fully confirm – but most experts tend to presume it was the U.S. Capitol Building – and the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City.

By 7:30 a.m., all 19 militants are in transit. The airports they will depart from are Logan Airport in Boston, Dulles Airport just outside of Washington, D.C., and Newark Airport. All four flights they will hijack are scheduled to go to California and are packed with enough jet fuel to take them cross-country.

This episode will take you minute by minute through the story of 9/11 through the eyes of eight people who were there, each at a different important location in this moment of history. Along with our eight guests, we include actual recordings of air traffic controllers, dispatchers and the President of the United States from this day. This is a comprehensive narrative of 911: As it Happened.
About 9/11: A Generation Removed
On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021. The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Links

9/11 Interactive Timeline, 9/11 National Memorial website
September 11 Chronology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
September 11 Timeline, Flight 93 Memorial website

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Baby Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 04:16:19 GMT

Dr. Lori Buzzetti joins Tim to talk about one of the most magical stories of all time, one we all think we know, but it’s amazing what we don’t. Lori is a board-certified physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has served in private practice, and at a large medical center, where she was on the teaching faculty. Today, she is the founder and president of a nonprofit organization that serves expectant mothers called So Big. In this episode we’re going to talk about one of the most basic questions you can think of. What actually happens in those nine months before we meet our babies? This episode was originally released August 16, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/295_-_Encore_-_The_Baby_Story.mp3

We all have our own understandings of how babies are made based on what we may have read, or been told, or been taught in health class. And of course, based on our own experience as mothers … and as fathers. Or as family members.

Today, we’re going to assume none of that. We’re going to start with a clean slate, and walk through the most amazing journey on the planet with someone who knows.

We’re going to learn about the baby. Just the baby. Not the mom, not the dad, and not so much the pregnancy per se. Just the baby.
Links

So Big, (Lori’s nonprofit organization website)
LynLeee Hope, Meet the Baby Who Was Born Twice, ‘For Every Mom’ Blog
Extreme Preemie Born at 21 Weeks Young at Emory Decatur Hospital, Fox 5 Atlanta
Pregnancy Week by Week, Mayo Clinic

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. Lori Buzzetti
Dr. Lori Buzzetti is the founder and President of a nonprofit organization called So Big, which serves expectant mothers.

So Big has established one Mountain House maternity home in Indiana with plans to expand in the near future. These homes would help expectant mothers meet their basic needs and connect with other programs that also serve pregnant women in need. Joining forces with others that have similar passion and goals will help us reach the women and children we want to serve and to do it more effectively. In the end it’s about giving hope. It’s about sharing God’s love.

She is married to Dr. Tony Buzzetti, with a daughter, Tessa and a son, Jake. They attend Traders Point Christian Church.

She has a B.S. in Biochemistry from Iowa State University and M.D. from the University of Iowa.

She completed her training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University Medical Center.

She is Board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a former private practitioner on the south-side of Indianapolis. She is formerly employed by St. Vincent Hospital where she was a member of the teaching faculty and administration for the OBGYN residency program.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Tom McMillan: Saving the Most Famous Flag Ever

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 29 May 2023 04:16:10 GMT

Author and historian Tom McMillan joins Tim to talk about his book called, “Our Flag Was Still There – The Star Spangled Banner that Survived the British and 200 Years. And the Armistead Family who saved it.” Tom is the author of four books centered on stories related to 9/11 and Flight 93; two books about key figures in the Gettysburg battle during the Civil War; and now his latest book that tells the story behind the story of the most famous flag in American history.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Our_Flag_Was_Still_There_auphonic.mp3

If you’re a regular listener to the Shaping Opinion podcast, you may remember an interview we did before with Tom McMillan. We had a great conversation with him in March of 2019. That was our 58th episode. If you’re keeping track, this one is our 294th episode.

In that earlier episode, Tom told us about five local boys from Gettysburg who came back to fight in an epic battle in their hometown.

Today, we’re going to talk with Tom about a different chapter in American history. The events surrounding the War of 1812, a famous battle at Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, the story behind our National Anthem, and an American family that preserved one of the most sacred artifacts in our nation’s history. One that now rests in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

But there’s more to Tom than just history, and it’s worth knowing that up front.

Tom started his career as a sports writer. He then became a hockey executive until his retirement. But long before he retired, he started his transition into author and historian. How does something like that happen?
About the Book
Our Flag Was Still There details the improbable two-hundred-year journey of the original Star-Spangled Banner—from Fort McHenry in 1814, when Francis Scott Key first saw it, to the Smithsonian in 2023—and the enduring family who defended, kept, hid, and ultimately donated the most famous flag in American history.

Francis Scott Key saw the original Star-Spangled Banner flying over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry on September 14, 1814, following a twenty-five-hour bombardment by the British Navy, inspiring him to write the words to our national anthem. Torn and tattered over the years, reduced in size to appease souvenir-hunters, stuffed away in a New York City vault for the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the flag’s mere existence after two hundred years is an improbable story of dedication, perseverance, patriotism, angst, inner-family squabbles, and, yes, more than a little luck.

For this unlikely feat, we have the Armistead family to thank—led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry, who took it home after the battle in clear defiance of U.S. Army regulations. It is only because of that quiet indiscretion that the flag survives to this day. Armistead’s descendants kept and protected their family heirloom for ninety years. The flag’s first photo was not taken until 1873, almost sixty years after Key saw it waving, and most Americans did not even know of its existence until Armistead’s grandson loaned it to the Smithsonian in 1907.

Tom McMillan tells a story as no one has before. Digging deep into the archives of Fort McHenry and the Smithsonian, accessing never-before-published letters and documents, and presenting rare photos from the private collections of Armistead descendants and other sources, McMillan follows the flag on an often-perilous journey through three centuries. Our Flag Was Still There provides new insight into an intriguing period of U.S. history, offering a “story behind the story” account of one of the country’s most treasured relics.
Links

Our Flag Was Still There, by Tom McMillan (Amazon)
Our Flag Was Still There, by Tom McMillan (Simon & Schuster)
Star-Spangled Banner, Smithsonian
Smithsonian Exhibit of the Star-Spangled Banner, Smithsonian Museum of American History

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Peter Gray: Do Kids Really Play Anymore?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 22 May 2023 04:16:59 GMT

Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology at Boston College, joins Tim to talk about whatever happened to free play among children. This is a problem in society. The fact that kids aren’t playing in the same ways or as much as they used to. And what it all means. Peter has conducted and published groundbreaking research in the area of play in human evolution.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Peter_Gray_-_Play_auphonic.mp3

If I were to say the word, “play” to you, what would that make you think of?

Would you wonder if I’m talking about playing a game, or playing a sport? Would you think I’m talking about tennis or golf?

What if I were to talk about kids at play? What would that make you think of? Close your eyes. Do you see a group of kids at play? Is there an adult in the picture? Or, are they just playing amongst themselves?

These are critical questions. And believe it or not, play, is a very important topic.

In preparing for today’s episode, our guest, Peter Gray, shared a paper he wrote recently for the Journal of Pediatrics. In it, Peter and his co-authors, dig deep into a problem in society.

There has been a decline in what they call “independent activity” and it’s hurting kids. That “independent activity” is otherwise known as play.

Peter makes the case that the rise of anxiety and depression among kids of school age, and of teenagers in the U.S. is at an all-time high. They draw a correlation between this trend, and a steady decline in the chance for kids and teens to play in ways their parents did when they were kids. In ways their parents may have taken for granted.

The first thing I wanted to ask Peter was, “What’s the difference between playing on an organized baseball team or a soccer team, and the kind of play that he says is on the decline?”
Links

Peter Gray's Substack - Play Makes Us Human
The Play of Animals, by Karl Groos (Amazon)
The Play of Man, by Karl Groos (Amazon)
Peter Gray TED Talk on Play (YouTube)
Peter Gray, Boston College
Free to Learn, by Peter Gray (Amazon)
It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, by Dana Boyd (Amazon)
Let Grow (website)
Free Range Kids, by Lenore Skenazy (Amazon)
Freedom To Learn, Psychology Today blog, by Peter Gray

About this Episode’s Guest Peter Gray
Psychologist Peter Gray, faculty emeritus, photographed to accompany a story about his new book, "Free to Learn," which concerns the importance of play for children's healthy development and ability to thrive.

Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology at Boston College who has conducted and published research in neuroendocrinology, developmental psychology, anthropology, and education. He is author of an internationally acclaimed introductory psychology textbook, now in its 8th edition, which brings an evolutionary perspective to the entire field. His recent research focuses on the roles of play in human evolution and how children educate themselves, through play and exploration, when they are free to do so. He has expanded on these ideas in his book, Free to Learn (Basic Books). His research includes surveys of grown un-schoolers and graduates of a school designed for Self-Directed Education. He also authors a regular blog called Freedom to Learn, for Psychology Today magazine. His research findings have led him to become an advocate of Self-Directed Education. He is a founding member and president of the Alliance for Self-Directed Education.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Jonathan Noyes: Confessions of a Former Atheist

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 15 May 2023 04:16:14 GMT

Jonathan Noyes joins Tim to talk about why he gave up on atheism and how he came to where he is today. This is a conversation about logic, about reasoning and research, about doubt, and ultimately, about faith. Jonathan is a former atheist who has lived a journey that few have. He’s now a Christian.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Jon_Noyes_-_Confessions_of_a_Former_Atheist.mp3

In 2014, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey on a number of topics. One of those topics was faith and religion. According to that survey, atheists comprise roughly three percent of the total U.S. Population. A slightly greater number identified as agnostics.

For our purposes here today, let’s talk about what is an atheist versus and agnostic.

An atheist is someone who does not believe there is a God.

An agnostic is someone who has not decided for themselves whether there is a God or not. They leave open the possibility there could be a higher power, but they tend to reject God as we know Him in our society.

For comparison, let’s look at the numbers for the two most dominant religious faiths in America. Christianity and Judaism.

According to Statista.com, the United States is home to the largest number of Christians in the world. As of 2010, there were roughly 247 million Christians in America. This in a country of 330 million.

In 2020, the Pew Research Center conducted another study to look at Judaism in America. It found that about 5.8 million adults identify as Jewish by religion, and another 1.5 million identify as Jewish with no religion. This amounts to roughly 2.5 percent of the total U.S. population.

Other religions are represented in smaller numbers in the U.S. population.

These numbers may surprise you. They did me. But, no matter what study you look at, the number o atheists in America is on the rise.

Jonathan Noyes was one of those atheists.
Links

Stand to Reason Bio - Jonathan Noyes
Roman's, Chapter One
C.S. Lewis, Website
New Believer's Bible, NLT, Amazon
Lee Strobel, Website
Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes
William Provine Dies, Cornell Website
Richard Dawkins Foundation, Website
Love Thy Body, by Nancy Pearcey (Amazon)

About this Episode’s Guest Jonathan Noyes
Jonathan has worked as a speaker with Stand to Reason since 2019. A former atheist, Jonathan used to think belief in God was unwarranted and irresponsible. Then, after examining the evidence for Christianity he was faced with the fact that Jesus is who He says He is and the Christian worldview tells the true story of reality. Since then Jon has been passionate about engaging the culture with honest, well thought-out reasons why people should trust the Christian worldview. Jon has developed a series of passionate talks to do just that.

In 2013 Jonathan earned a master’s degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, graduating with honors. Jon brings a unique perspective to his audiences and the Stand to Reason team, having more than ten years' experience in the legal field and serving more than five as a pastor in his local church. Jon also serves on the board of directors for Life Without Limbs and at Beacon Hill Classical Academy, where he teaches discipleship.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Jerry Burger: Why You Obey

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 08 May 2023 04:16:56 GMT

Leading social psychologist Jerry Burger joins Tim to talk about landmark experiments on human obedience conducted by Stanley Milgram, and how decades later Jerry did a similar study that only validated Milgram’s earlier disturbing findings. Jerry describes his own research project in 2006 that re-affirmed some of the conclusions from a landmark obedience research project from 45 years earlier. Will people do what they’re told even if it harms someone else? We find out.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Jerry_Burger_auphonic.mp3

Any student of history knows that during World War II, the Nazis exterminated roughly 6 million Jews in the Holocaust. They did it in a number of horrific ways. It all started with the creation of a system of concentration camps, staffed by obedient Nazi and German troops.

The horrors that happened in those camps are well documented.

In the post-war interrogations and trials of Nazi officers and other Germans involved in war crimes, one refrain kept coming up. “I was just following orders.” “I just did what I was told.”

No one questioned. No one objected. Everyone obeyed.

In 1961, an American psychologist at Yale named Stanley Milgram pondered a question. Could nations other than Germany conform to authority in the same way?

Would Americans conform to authority in the same way, or would there be differences?

So, he decided to conduct an experiment.

He created a reason for test subjects to participate. The cover story was that this would be a learning project.

He recruited 40 men between the ages of 20 and 50.

Volunteer participants in the study were told that they would be paired up with another participant. They would be assigned to teach the other participant certain things, and then they would question the other participant. If that participant got an answer wrong, the volunteer teacher would deliver punishment in the form of electric shock. That’s what these unsuspecting participants were told.

What they didn’t know was that they were the only ones in the study who didn’t know what was going on. The person they were supposed to be teaching – the learner – was in on it. The volunteer teacher’s fellow instructors were in on it. The only ones who didn’t know that the electric shocks were fake was the person assigned to be the teacher, the person assigned to press the buttons to deliver those electric shocks.

What Milgram wanted to find out was, how long would it be before the teacher in the study would stop and reject orders to punish his fellow participant.

Jerry Burger is a psychologist and researcher who was intrigued by the Milgram experiment and would later conduct a similar one to compare his results with Milgram’s.
Links

Jerry Burger Website
More Shocking Results: New Research Replicates Milgram's Findings, American Psychological Association
Four Decades After Milgram, We're Still Willing to Inflict Pain, New York Times
How Would People Behave in Milgram's Experiment Today?, Behavioral Scientist

About this Episode’s Guest Jerry Burger
Jerry Burger is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Santa Clara University. As a scholar, he is best known for his work on the psychological processes underlying deplorable and inhumane acts like atrocities and genocide. His research in this area was the subject of a New York Times editorial and was featured in a 60-minute broadcast of ABC News’ Primetime and in the Discovery Channel documentary, How Evil Are You? His presentations on this topic include an invited address before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

Retirement has allowed Jerry to start what he thinks of as his second career as a fiction writer. His short stories have appeared in several literary magazines, including one selected for the Best American Mystery Stories 2020. He also has published a novel, The Shadows of 1915 (Golden Antelope Press) which examines the generational effects of the 1915 Arm...

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Ken Auletta: The Theranos Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 01 May 2023 04:16:45 GMT

Journalist Ken Auletta joins Tim to talk about the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos from the perspective as the reporter who helped introduce the woman and the company to the world. In December 2014, Ken was one of the first to conduct in-depth interviews with all of the major players at Theranos and their booming start-up company. Little did he or anyone know at the time how the Theranos story would unfold. Ken talks about his coverage of Elizabeth Holmes in The New Yorker and the story that unfolded.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Ken_Auletta_-_Theranos_auphonic.mp3

If you were to conduct an Internet search of Elizabeth Holmes today, you’d learn that one of the terms that often accompanies the 39-year-old’s name is “disgraced Theranos CEO.” This is the result of the story we are about to tell.

At the moment, she is appealing her federal conviction for fraud that was committed while she led Theranos, that had promised a revolutionary new way to conduct the full range of blood tests.

Her story gave us a glimpse as to some of the inner workings of Silicon Valley.

Homes now has to serve an 11-year prison sentence because a jury found her guilty of four counts of fraud and conspiracy against company investors.

They believed in her promise to change the way blood could be collected and tested, and in turn, transform healthcare.

That’s where we are now. But the story started almost 20 years ago when Holmes dropped out of Stanford University. She was only 19 years old then.

She left Stanford to start Theranos. Almost from the start, the company had attracted lots of money from some extremely influential investors.

Holmes herself had the kind of magnetism the media likes. She was young and smart. She was a really effective speaker and salesperson. And she seemed to have a sense of personal branding long before that became a thing.

She patterned herself after Apple founder and tech pioneer Steve Jobs. She wore black turtlenecks, almost exclusively. She adopted a slow, deliberate and deep speaking style that at times was almost hypnotic.

She created a media persona that had others characterizing her as the female Steve Jobs. This was no coincidence, of course. It was all calculated.

She was rewarded with an avalanche of positive media coverage. Elizabeth Holmes graced just about every major business magazine cover. She was billed as “the world’s youngest self-made woman billionaire.”

She was said to be worth $4.5 billion. Her company – Theranos – at its peak, was valued at $10 billion.

Some of its well-known investors were Larry Ellison, who founded Oracle Corporation, and media titan Rupert Murdoch. Her advisors and board of directors were the stuff of envy for any company. Names like Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State. John Mattis, the decorated and now retired U.S. Marine general. George Schultz, another revered former U.S. Secretary of State. William Perry, a former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and others.

So, how could a company so well positioned for success fail? And not only fail, but for the reasons it did?

One person who’s given these questions more thought than most is journalist Ken Auletta. He wrote one of the most comprehensive stories about Homes for The New Yorker in December 2014.
Links

Blood, Simpler, By Ken Auletta, The New Yorker
Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology, by John Carreryrou, Wall Street Journal
Elizabeth Holmes: The hyptnoic tale of the rise and fall of Theranos, New Scientist
How Theranos Misled Me, Fortune
Elizabeth Holmes sentenced: how politics, celebrity and big pharma collided in trial of the century, Yahoo! News
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, HBO

About this Episode’s Guest Ken Auletta
Ken Auletta launched the Annals of Communications column for The New Yorker magazine in 1992. He is the author of twelve books,

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David Greene: Should the U.S. Ban TikTok?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 04:16:30 GMT

The Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), David Greene, joins Tim to talk about current efforts to ban the social media app TikTok from American users. The EFF describes itself as the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF says its “mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world.” In this episode, David talks about current legislation in the U.S. to ban the popular social media app called TikTok, but it has more far-reaching impacts than just TikTok.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/RESTRICT_Act_auphonic.mp3

TikTok is a short-form video hosting platform owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance. TikTok users create their own videos and submit them to the platform. Some videos can be as short as a few seconds, while others can be as long as 10 minutes.

TikTok started in China under a different name, and continues in that country under its original brand. The social media app made its international debut in September of 2017.

To date, the TikTok app has been downloaded more than 150 million times in the United States and has how surpassed 2 billion downloads globally.

If you have kids, especially teenagers, you probably don’t need me to tell you how popular the app is, but it’s not limited to teenagers. Videos on TikTok are well known for going viral. This causes them to jump onto other platforms like Twitter and Instagram, where for some, their reach penetrates America’s national consciousness.

Sometimes a TikTok video will go viral to the extent that America’s traditional media will pick up the story.

But the TikTok story is more than that of just a popular app. That 150 million download number means that the app is installed on roughly 150 million American smart devices. This gives the social media platform access to data and information on those 150 million users.

What complicates this is that ByteDance is a Chinese-owned company. And despite assurances from the company, a common fear is that the government of China is using this access to spy on Americans.
Links

Electronic Frontier Foundation
"Patriot Act on Steroids:" Left and Right Unite Against Fear-mongering TikTok Ban, MSN
TikTok Ban Faces Obscure Hurdle: The Berman Amendments, The Wall Street Journal
Could the RESTRICT Act Criminalize the Use of VPNs?, Reason

About this Episode’s Guest David Greene
David Greene, Senior Staff Attorney and Civil Liberties Director, has significant experience litigating First Amendment issues in state and federal trial and appellate courts. David currently serves on the steering committee of the Free Expression Network, the governing committee of the ABA Forum on Communications Law, and on advisory boards for several arts and free speech organizations across the country.

David is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he teaches classes in First Amendment and media law and was formerly an instructor in the journalism department at San Francisco State University. He has written and lectured extensively on many areas of First Amendment Law, including as a contributor to the International Encyclopedia of Censorship. Before joining EFF, David was for twelve years the Executive Director and Lead Staff Counsel for First Amendment Project, where he worked with EFF on numerous cases including Bunner v. DVDCCA. David also previously served as program director of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression where he was the principal contributor and general editor of the NCFE Quarterly and the principal author of the NCFE Handbook to Understanding, Preparing for and Responding to Challenges to your Freedom of Artistic Expression.

He also practiced with the firms Bryan Cave LLP and Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft. Way back in 1998, he was a founding member,

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Ken Brown: The Bystander Effect

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 04:16:41 GMT

Professor Ken Brown joins Tim to talk about a psychological phenomenon you see any time you log on to social media and no one is helping a victim of harassment or violence. It’s called the bystander effect. Ken teaches organizational psychology at the University of Iowa, and is perhaps best known for a TED talk he gave on the bystander effect. Why don’t people step forward and help when someone is in need? That answer may not be what you think.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Bystander_Effect_II_auphonic.mp3

On March 13th, 1964, a 28-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was coming home from her late-night shift as a manager at Ev’s Eleventh Hour Bar in Queens, New York. She lived in a second-floor apartment in a building next to the Long Island Railroad in Queens. That was when she was brutally stabbed to death.

The story of Kitty’s murder made headlines for the shear brutality of it, but that wasn’t all. When Kitty arrived at her apartment and parked her car around 3:15 a.m., a man named Winston Moseley attacked Kitty with a hunting knife.

Police would later learn that he was wandering the city looking for a random victim. When he spotted Kitty in her own car, he decided to follow her home.

When Moseley parked his car and approached Kitty, she ran towards her apartment building. That’s when the man stabbed her twice in the back.

At that hour of the morning, most people nearby were asleep. But some people were awake, and others were awakened by Kitty’s cries for help.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Kitty had made it back to her feet and collapsed in the lobby of her apartment building at the base of the stairs.

Mosely had fled the scene right after Kitty’s initial cries for help, but 10 minutes later, he came back. He found Kitty almost unconscious in a hallway near the rear of the building. This is where he raped her, stole $49 and inflicted her fatal stab wounds.

The entire crime persisted for 30 minutes.

At the time, the New York Times reported that no one had done anything to save Kitty. This was the headline from that front-page story: “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police; Apathy at Stabbing of Queens Woman Shocks Inspector.”

Later it would be learned that the story wasn’t completely right. The number of witnesses was less than 37, and a few people did phone police. But that wasn’t enough to save her life.

That case – the case of the murder of Kitty Genovese – remains relevant today because it was the first to shed light on a psychological phenomenon now known as the “bystander effect.”
Links

Ken Brown, University of Ioway (website)
Kitty Genovese, The History Channel
If You're in Danger, Will Bystanders Help?, Greater Good Magazine
The 'bystander effect' is real - but research shows that when more people witness violence, it's more likely someone will step up and intervene, The Conversation
The Vulture and the Little Girl, Rare Historical Photos

About this Episode’s Guest Ken Brown
Ken Brown, Ph.D., is the Tippie Children Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Tippie College of Management at the University of Iowa. And he’s a professor of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Elizabeth Gilpin: Surviving “Troubled Teen School” Captivity

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:16:25 GMT

Author and actress Elizabeth Gilpin joins Tim to talk about the story behind her bestselling book called Stolen: A Memoir. The story starts with how one night when she was 15 years old, she was pulled from her bedroom in the middle of the night and placed into what is best called the system for troubled teens. That was the beginning of the nightmarish life she would endure in a burgeoning and unregulated industry for troubled teens.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Stolen_auphonic.mp3

The story we’re going to tell today is not unusual, at least the start of that story. Who doesn’t know someone or a family where they had an out-of-control teenager who hasn’t responded to anything the parents tried to do to help them turn things around?

Elizabeth Gilpin was one of those teens. She came from a good family. She had parents who cared about and loved her. But she suffered from depression and that manifested itself in troubled behaviors.

Her parents felt they tried everything, but nothing was working. So, when Elizabeth was 15 years old, her mother and father turned to a relatively new type of treatment field called the “troubled teen industry” or TTI.

And that’s where Elizabeth’s story goes from common to unusual. And perhaps from the unusual to the disturbing.
Links

Stolen: A Memoir, by Elizabeth Gilpin (Amazon)
Stolen: Harrowing Memoir Exposes Abusive Boarding School Industry, USA Today
Stolen, Grand Central Publishing
Child Mind Institute

About this Episode’s Guest Elizabeth Gilpin
Elizabeth Gilpin is an actress, writer, and producer. She starred in and produced Life Boat, a short film directed by Lorraine Nicholson which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Live Action Short Film at AFI Fest and won the Audience Award at the Napa Valley Film Festival. Elizabeth also starred in Endings, Inc. and Guerra. Stolen is her first book. Elizabeth currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Nashville.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

John Perkins: The Dirty Work of an Economic Hit Man

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 04:16:00 GMT

Author and former “Economic Hit Man” John Perkins joins Tim to talk about his New York Times best-selling book that’s now become a classic. That book is, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: China’s EHM Strategy, Ways to Stop the Global Takeover.” He just released an updated version of the book that covers the tactics that China, the U.S. and other major powers have used to wage economic “warfare” in 2023.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Economic_Hit_Man_auphonic.mp3

For the most part, if I were to talk to you about the world’s super powers, you might think I’m talking about armies. Nuclear warheads. The war machine. But in 2023, more than ever, the term “super power” may better be described as the countries with the most economic power.

Over the decades, the United States, China, Russia and other smaller countries, mostly from the West, have exerted influence through economic means. But make no mistake, economic warfare brings with it its own forms of brutality.

That’s what will be talking about today with our guest John Perkins. He’s been on the front lines of this and has some stories to tell.

He describes his job as that of an economic hit man.
Links

John Perkins' Website (JohnPerkins.org)
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins (Amazon)

About this Episode’s Guest John Perkins
As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies.
John’s classic, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004) spent 73 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has been published in more than 35 languages. It was a groundbreaking exposé of the clandestine operations that created the current global crises. The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2016) brought the story of economic hit men and jackal assassins up to date at that time and chillingly home to the U.S. It went on to provide practical strategies for each of us to transform the failing global death economy into a regenerative life economy. The two books have sold more than 1.9 million copies.
In addition to economics, politics and global intrigue, John has also written books on indigenous cultures and what they can teach us about sustainability and transformation, including The World Is As You Dream It, Spirit of the Shuar, and The Stress-Free Habit.
John has lectured at Harvard, Oxford, and more than 50 other universities around the world. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, NPR, A&E, the History Channel, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, and many other publications, as well as in numerous documentaries including The End of Poverty?, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology of an Economic Hit Man.
He is a founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, nonprofit organizations devoted to establishing a world that future generations will want to inherit. He was awarded the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace, and Rainforest Action Network Challenging Business As Usual Award, among other accolades.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: How Free is Speech on the American College Campus?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 04:16:35 GMT

Princeton professor and author Keith Whittington joins Tim to talk about the current state of free speech, or not-so-free-speech on the American college campus. Keith has a long resume of accomplishments, including the authoring of the award-winning book, “Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech.” But in this episode, we talk about Keith’s role in the formation of a new and already growing organization that champions freedom of speech called the Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA).

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_How_Free_is_Speech_on_Americas_College_Campus.mp3

There is a growing fear on college campuses among professors and instructors that they could say or do the smallest thing and it could ruin their careers. They could be canceled for using the wrong story or word to illustrate a point while teaching a class.

Something they say or do could be perceived by some students as a triggering factor – something that could trigger some negative emotion that hinders learning.

If you follow the news, or just do a quick Google search, you’ll find stories where educators, or the colleges themselves, were called out by students for perceived lack of sensitivity to certain issues.

It’s stories like those that have created a growing concern among educators that something has to be done to turn the tide. They’re concerned that students and others may have the wrong idea about what a college education is supposed to be about. That college is a place to challenge yourself and be challenged. To investigate, analyze and expose yourself to different ways of thinking, diverse schools of thought. And above all, not to fear such exposure or see it as something to be protected from.

It’s with this in mind, that Professor Keith Whittington of Princeton, and more than 200 other scholars from across America decided to form the AFA. Keith says the AFA is dedicated to helping college educators, quote – “speak, instruct, and publish without fear of sanction, bullying, punishment or persecution.”
Links

Keith Whittington’s Princeton Home Page
The Academic Freedom Alliance: A Q&A with Keith Whittington, Academe Blog
Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech, by Keith Whittington (Barnes & Noble)
Fresh Hope for Campus Free Speech, New York Post/AP

About this Episode’s Guest Keith Whittington
Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and Chair of the Academic Committee of the Academic Freedom Alliance. He writes about American constitutional law, politics and history and American political thought. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Harvard Law School and is a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Atlantic, among other outlets, and he is a regular contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy blog. He is the author of several books, including Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech and Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and completed his Ph.D. in political science at Yale University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Walter Iooss, Jr. is Sports Photography’s GOAT

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 04:16:41 GMT

Legendary sports photographer Walter Iooss joins Tim to talk about his life and career that has spanned decades. His work has appeared in Sports Illustrated and in many major media outlets and in unforgettable marketing campaigns. If you were to think of an iconic photo from any major American sport from over the past 50 years, there’s a decent chance Walter is the one who captured that image. Walter talks about his life behind the lens, a lens that has captured household names, helped make a few athletes become household names, and even at times when people in his photos were not famous, the image was still…iconic. This episode was first releases April 5, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Walter_Iooss_Sports_Photographer.mp3

There is a photo from 1988 of Michael Jorden in his red Chicago Bulls uniform that makes it look like he’s defying gravity. Like he’s flying, basketball in hand, somewhere between the foul line and the hoop, ready to slam that ball through the net. If a picture tells 1,000 stories, this one tells 1,001. Did he really take off at the foul line and make it to the hoop in one jump? What does it take to do that? The image is iconic.

There’s another photo from years earlier when New York Jets celebrity quarterback Joe Namath was preparing for the Super Bowl. And by preparing, I mean lounging next to a swimming pool, getting some sun, surrounded by a fans and reporters. Broadway Joe, in swimming trunks, flashing his million-dollar smile. Iconic.

Then there’s that one from the NFC Championship game in January 1982. That’s where Joe Montana tossed the winning pass to Dwight Clark to send the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl. The photo features the exact moment where Clark is at the high point of his jump, catching the football barely in his fingertips, to bring it down with a championship. The photo and the moment have been dubbed, “The Catch.” Iconic.

Those are three iconic images of many that have one thing in common. Walter Iooss. He’s the photographer who sometimes captures iconic moments, and other times, through this artistic eye, he creates them.

Walter has shot photos for Time, Newsweek, New York and People magazines. He’s done advertising work for brands like Adidas, Pepsi, Gatorade, Fuji and Eastman Kodak.

He’s published many books of his work, but the major constant in his career has been his work for Sports Illustrated. A magazine he started working for in the 1960s, and one he still works for today.

Over the years, he’s shot images for more than 300 of the magazine’s covers.
Links

Walter Iooss, Jr., Website
Christie’s Puts Sports Photography GOAT Walter Iooss Jr. On the Auction Block, Forbes
Walter Iooss: Sports Photography Legend, Shutterbug.com
G.O.A.T.S.: Greatest of All Time, with Photographer Walter Iooss, ESPN Documentary
Walter Iooss Jr.’s Best Super Bowl Photos, Sports Illustrated

About this Episode’s Guest Walter Iooss Jr.
Widely viewed as one of the greatest sports photographers of our time and called “the poet laureate of sports,” Walter Iooss, Jr.’s photographs have graced the pages of Sports Illustrated, including more than 300 covers, for 58 years. Since the age of 17, Walter has photographed some of the most recognized athletes in sports history, including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and hundreds more. His ability to create beautiful backdrops for his subjects, both action and portraits, changed the definition of what a “good sports photograph” should be.

Walter placed the same care and consciousness from his sports photographs to create Sports Illustrated’s now-legendary swimsuit issues. As in his action shots, his portraits for SI’s legendary swimsuit issues revealed his uncanny sense of graphics and Rembrandt-like reverence for light and shadow. His ability to truly connect with his subjects, athletes, or models, is what helped make Walter the best in the gam...

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Encore: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 04:16:49 GMT

Long-time Director of Fallingwater Lynda S. Waggoner joins Tim to discuss the lasting impact Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece at Bear Run has had on how the nation continues to perceive house and home. This episode was originally released April 30, 2018.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Fallingwater.mp3

Frank Lloyd Wright was born right after the American Civil War in Wisconsin. He started his career in 1887 and was a well-known architect well into the 20th Century. He was the originator of the organic approach to modern architectural design and construction. By 1934, however, many considered him past his prime. He was in his late 60s, in his third marriage, and there wasn’t in as much demand for new commissions.

The Kaufmann family owned a highly successful department store company in Pittsburgh, and they had a weekend retreat at Bear Run about 90 miles away where the family enjoyed the beauty of nature. One of the key features of the property were the Bear Run water falls.

In 1934, the Kaufmann’s and Frank Lloyd Wright came together to create an architectural masterpiece that continues to remind us of what a house and a home can be.
Links

Fallingwater – Official Site
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation – Fallingwater
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Most Beautiful Work – Smithsonian Magazine
Kahn Academy on Fallingwater
12 Facts You Didn’t Know About Fallingwater – Mental Floss

About this Episode’s Guest Lynda Waggoner

Lynda S. Waggoner

Lynda S. Waggoner, former Vice President of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Director of Fallingwater, was affiliated with the Frank Lloyd Wright masterwork since first serving as a tour guide during her high school days. She now is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on Fallingwater.

“Lynda Waggoner understands Fallingwater in a way that few others alive do…because she is a direct link to the Kaufmanns and an indirect link to Wright,” wrote American Institute of Architects member Robert Bailey in a review of Waggoner’s book, “Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Romance with Nature.”

Those teenage days at Fallingwater inspired her to study architecture at the University of Kentucky and art history at the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned dual degrees in art history and anthropology with summa cum laude honors. Her first professional position was as curator of the Museum Without Walls, originally an outreach program of the Baltimore Museum of Art after which she was named curator of the Jay C. Leff Collection of non Western art. In 1980 she became the first executive director of Touchstone Center for Crafts, now a nationally recognized crafts school. A native of nearby Farmington, Waggoner returned to Fallingwater in 1985 as a curatorial consultant and became full-time curator in 1986. A year later, she was named site administrator in addition to her curator’s role. She was named director in 1996.

Waggoner is past president of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, past Vice President of the Greater Pittsburgh Museum Council, past chairman of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, and past vice president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums. She currently serves on the Board of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and the Community Foundation of Fayette County and the Advisory Board of Preservation Pennsylvania.

In 2007 she received the “Wright Spirit Award” from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for her service in the preservation of Wright buildings. In 2004 she was awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal by the Pittsburgh Chapter and in 1997, she was named the Distinguished Alumna Lecturer for the University of Pittsburgh’s Frick Fine Arts School of Art History and Architectural Studies. She has lectured widely both here and abroad including presentations at the White House, The Getty Museum in Los Angles and The National Building Museum i...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 05:16:41 GMT

Gavin McIlvenna joins Tim on the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Gavin is president of the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Army, but one of the more unique experiences he’s had is the time he spent guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. In this episode, Gavin tells the story behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the symbolic and real significance of one of the most hallowed places on American soil. This episode was first releases on June 14, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Tomb_of_the_Unknowns.mp3

There are places throughout the United States where those who’ve died for their country are remembered with honor and where they remain.

Churchyard cemeteries in places like Boston and Philadelphia to honor the Revolutionary War dead. Or battlefield cemeteries like the one in Gettysburg to honor the fallen during the American Civil War.

But in America’s history, there hadn’t been a single place. A dedicated place to pay tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedoms and for the nation.

That changed after World War One.

After the Great War, France and Great Britain decided to select one of their fallen soldiers to represent all of the dead from World War One. They laid an unknown soldier to rest in an honored place on November 11, 1920, just over 100 years ago.

Other nations followed in similar fashion. Portugal, Italy, Belgium. All selected an unknown soldier to receive full military honors and burial at an honored place in those countries.

The commanding general of American forces in France at the time was Brigadier General William Connor. He first heard about the French plans to honor their Unknown Solider during the planning phases. He liked the idea and ran it up the chain, only to be rejected by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Payton March. That was in 1919. General March felt the Americans would be able to identify all of their own dead, so there wouldn’t be any “unknown soldiers,” and he felt the U.S. had no comparable burial place for a fallen hero that was similar to Westminster Abbey in Great Britain.

But on December 20, 1921, U.S. Congressman Hamilton Fish of New York introduced a resolution that called for the return to the country of an unknown American who was killed during World War One. He wanted to bury a soldier who was killed in France, and then make plans for his burial with full military honors in a tomb that would be constructed at Arlington National Cemetery.

The tomb was built and is now located at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington Cemetery. On November 11, 1921, the body of an unidentified soldier who was killed in France, was laid to rest. He represents all of the unidentified and missing from World War One.

Since that time, an unidentified American service member has been laid to rest at that tomb, with the highest honors, representing World War Two, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. One crypt sits empty to represent all those who remain missing.

This year marks the Centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Links

Arlington National Cemetery
Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
National Commemoration of the Centennial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard

About this Episode’s Guest Gavin McIlvenna
Sergeant Major (Retired) Gavin L. McIlvenna is the 11th President of the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (SHGTUS) SGM (Ret) McIlvenna retired from the US ...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: What are Your Privacy Rights Online?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 05:16:05 GMT

Fred Cate joins Tim to talk about how big tech companies could use your personal data without your knowledge or explicit consent and some of the legal issues involved. Fred is vice president for research, a distinguished professor of law and a senior fellow at Indiana University’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research. This espisode was first released April 26, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_What_are_your_online_privacy_rights.mp3

Earlier this month, Alaska was the latest state to take up the issue of consumer data privacy when the state’s governor introduced bills in both legislative chambers.

The two bills – Senate Bill 116 and House Bill 159 – are both called the Consumer Data Privacy Act. They are designed to give individuals the right to know what personal information is being collected about them and request its deletion.

If the bills become law, consumers would be able to opt out of the sale of their personal information. They would be able to learn whether their information has been sold or shared with third parties.

Why is this important?

You know when you log onto your computer or use your smart phone someone is watching. So what? Right?

We all know our data is out there, but just where is there? And who is there?

But, did you ever wonder what is actually happening with your data?

And by data, I don’t just mean your financial transactions, your texts, your tweets, your pictures and your posts. I mean everything.

Not only is your smart phone and your computer tracking you, but it’s making decisions about you, it’s inferring things about you.

It’s judging you. And it could be sharing its conclusions about you with someone else who wants to sell to you. Or sell access to you to yet someone else.

And that’s where it starts to get really interesting. Someone may want you to buy something, or go somewhere, or donate to something, or protest against something, or boycott something, and they may try to maneuver you into doing just that. All without your even realizing it.

Professor Fred Cate of Indiana University is one of the foremost experts on cybersecurity and he specializes in information privacy and the law.
Links

Professor Fred Cate, Indiana University Webpage
Fred Cate, Information Policy Center
Privacy and Freedom, Dr. Alan Westin (Barnes & Noble)
Alaska Governor Introduces Consumer Data Privacy Bill, Law Street
California Consumer Privacy Act, State of California

About this Episode’s Guest Fred Cate
Professor Fred Cate specializes in information privacy and security law issues. He has testified before numerous congressional committees and speaks frequently before professional, industry, and government groups.

In addition to his appointment in the Law School and as Vice President for Research, he is an Adjunct Professor of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University. From 2003 to 2014, he served as the founding director of IU’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Research and Information Assurance Education, where he is now a senior fellow.

Professor Cate currently chairs the National Academies’ study on Law Enforcement and Intelligence Access to Encrypted Content, and he is a member of the National Academies’ Forum on Cyber Resilience as well as many other government, industry, and not-for-profit advisory panels. He serves as a senior policy advisor to the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP.

Previously, Professor Cate served as a member of the National Academies’ Committee on Technical and Privacy Dimensions of Information for Terrorism Prevention, counsel to the Department of Defense Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee, and a member of the National Security Agency’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Panel, the Federal Trade Commission’s Advisory Committee on Online Access and Security,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Your Social Credit Score, the Price You Pay

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 05:16:29 GMT

Kelley Vlahos joins Tim to talk about how big tech companies are starting to use your data to grade you in ways that may surprise and shock you. The focus of our discussion is your Social Credit Score and how China may be illustrating just how alarming its applications can be. Kelley is a senior advisor at the Quincy Institute and editorial director at Responsible Statecraft. She’s written about this population monitoring tool that before now was unthinkable in America. That’s the focus of this episode, which was originally released on May 3, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Social_Credit_Score.mp3

Anyone who buys a car or a house or wants a new credit card is familiar with the financial credit process. You have to build up a track record of paying off your debts in order to obtain good financial credit. Financial credit enables you to borrow money.

A bad financial credit rating can be used by banks and lenders to deny you a loan, which means you can’t buy that house, that car, or get that credit card.

Until now, that was the only credit rating you needed to worry about. But in subtle ways, another credit rating may be creeping into your daily life you may not be so aware of.

It’s called a Social Credit Score. It’s essentially a profile that rates people for better or worse based on everything they do. Every place they go, every rideshare they take, every destination they travel to, every book they buy, every membership, every donation, everything they post online, and, of course, their Internet search history.

Here are a couple simple examples. Every time you take an Uber rideshare, your driver rates you according to a star system. If the driver likes you, you get more stars. If the driver doesn’t like you, you get fewer stars. What you have to do to be liked is up to the driver, not you.

On social media, you learn what information you’re allowed to share and that information – even if it’s legal and non-offensive – that will get you suspended or banned.
Links

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos (website)
George Orwell’s Dystopian Nightmare in China, by Kelley Vlahos, American Conservative
The Invisible Shackles of America’s Social Credit System, Human Events
Social Credit Scores are Already Here, The Last American (blog)
China has Started Ranking Citizens with a Creepy ‘Social Credit’ System, Business Insider

About this Episode’s Guest Kelley Vlahos
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos comes to QI from The American Conservative, where for the last three years she served as the magazine’s executive editor and co-host of the Empire Has No Clothes podcast. Before joining TAC in 2017, Vlahos served as a contributing editor to the magazine, reporting and publishing regular articles on U.S. war policy, civil liberties, foreign policy, veterans, and Washington politics since 2007. She also organized the magazine’s major annual foreign policy conference for the last three years. Prior to that, Vlahos was director of social media and a digital editor at WTOP News in Washington, D.C. from 2013 to 2017.

She spent 15 years as an online political reporter for FOX News at the channel’s Washington D.C. bureau, as well as Washington correspondent for Homeland Security Today magazine. She is on the board of PublicSquare.net, a non-profit media project promoting informed Left-Right debate. Her recent media appearances include C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, Tucker Carlson Tonight, NPR’s 1A, POTUS on Sirius XM, and Al Jazeera. Before moving to the nation’s capital, Vlahos earned her degree in Journalism-Mass Media at Central Connecticut State University and worked her way through local and regional newspapers in her home state of Connecticut, including The New Britain Herald and The Torrington Register Citizen.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The American Front Porch

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 05:16:44 GMT

Author and journalist Michael Dolan joins Tim to tell the story of the American front porch. He’s the editor of American History magazine and the author of a book entitled, “The American Porch: An informal history of an informal place.” In this episode, he talks about how the front porch shaped life in America for well over 200 years. You could say that when it comes to our homes, the front porch was the original social media. This encore episode was originally released May 24, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Americas_Front_Porch.mp3

It’s probably something you may not think about much, even if you have one on your home and you walk across it a few times every day. The front porch.

But did you ever wonder what your life would be like if you didn’t have one? Or, on the other hand, if you are one of millions of Americans who don’t have a front porch, did you ever wonder what your life would be like if you did have one?

It’s not an understatement to say that in neighborhoods with front porches, the social dynamics between and among neighbors are different than they are in neighborhoods without them.

And most certainly those same social dynamics are different today, than they were many years ago, when it was just assumed your home would have a front porch, and that would be the place you would spend your time between your private world and the public world.

Michael Dolan is the editor of American History Magazine and the author of the book, “The American Porch.”
Links

The American Porch, by Michael Dolan (Amazon)
American History Magazine, Historynet.com
The Front Porch Campaign, American Heritage Magazine

About this Episode’s Guest Michael Dolan
Michael Dolan is a writer, editor, and musician. He lives in Washington, DC, his hometown. Besides editing American History magazine, he consults on book manuscripts and documentary television programs, most recently one about wildlife along the Canadian/American border. His articles have run in Smithsonian, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Outside, and The New York Times Magazine, among others. His 1987 Washington City Paper story about Judge Robert Bork’s video rentals caused a furor leading Congress to enact the federal Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988. Between 1983 and 1995, he and his wife renovated a 1920s-era bungalow in a DC neighborhood near the Potomac River. The final step of that process replaced a careworn front porch with one that he designed. The results of that project inspired his 2002 book, The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place. Dolan’s porch occasionally is the scene of rehearsals by his band, The Powerful House Ways & Means Committee.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Tim Schultz: What’s it Like to Win the Lottery?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 05:16:17 GMT

Powerball winner Tim Schultz joins Tim O’Brien to talk about what it’s like to win the lottery, and what you should do if you ever hit the jackpot for that big lottery prize. Tim is a YouTuber and the host of a podcast called Lottery, Dreams and Fortune. While working in a gas station to put himself through college, Tim won the $28 million Powerball prize in 1999 and his life hasn’t been the same since.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Winning_the_Lottery_auphonic.mp3

Even if you’re not a gambler, chances are at some point you bought a lottery ticket.

Maybe you don’t buy a ticket that often, but when the jackpot gets up to $100 million, $500 million or even a billion dollars, it gets tempting.

As they say, “You gotta play to win.”

There are two lottery games that seem to draw the most attention for their big jackpots – Powerball and Mega Millions.

Since 2016, there have been six jackpots in America that surpassed $1 billion. Three in the past year alone.

The largest lottery jackpot to date was the Powerball drawing on November 2, 2022. Someone bought a ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, not far from Pasadena. It’s not clear yet whether the winner has claimed the prize, but whoever it is, won over $2 billion before taxes.

The second-biggest jackpot was also a Powerball ticket that was split three ways. On January 13th, 2016, winners came from California, Florida and Tennessee.

The third biggest jackpot was a Mega Millions winner. This time from South Carolina. That person claimed the $1.5 billion jackpot. We don’t know who it was, but they opted to take a one-time lump sum of $877 million before taxes.

If you’re like me, once you buy that ticket, and up until the drawing, your imagination can run wild. What would you do with all that money?

It’s just that sort of thinking that captures the attention of millions who buy those lottery tickets.

Back in 1999, Tim Schultz was working at a gas station to put himself through college. But then fate happened. Tim sold himself a winning Powerball ticket. The prize was $28 million.

That doesn’t mean he took home all $28 million. While he can’t say how much he did take home all winners have the option of taking a lump sum, which is usually a little more than half of the publicized jackpot. And then there are the taxes. No matter who wins the lottery in a given week, Uncle Sam always gets a cut.

The idea that someone actually gets all that money is one of the biggest myths surrounding the lottery. Tim says there are other myths as well.
Links

Tim Schultz YouTube Channel
Lottery, Dreams and Fortune Podcast, with Tim Schultz (Spotify)
Powerball, website
I'm the Lottery Winner Who Bagged a $28 Million Jackpot, The Sun

About this Episode’s Guest Tim Schultz
Timothy Schultz is a YouTuber and host of the podcast, Lottery, Dreams and Fortune. It features human interest stories of overcoming the odds and the belief that anything is possible. This includes interviews with lottery winners.

In fact, Timothy Schultz is a lottery winner himself. In 1999, he won the Powerball jackpot in the USA before going back to college to study broadcast news and work on various productions. He's now combining his experience to meet and interview other people who have experienced sudden wealth or overcome the odds in life. Watch Timothy Schultz on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/c/timothyschultz .

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: She Pioneered Directed Evolution

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 05:16:05 GMT

Nobel Prize recipient Frances Arnold joins Tim to talk about winning a Nobel Prize honor for her pioneering work in “directed evolution,” which harnesses the power of evolution to enhance products throughout society – from biofuels and pharmaceuticals, to agriculture, chemicals, paper products and more. Directed evolution was in the news this week tied to Covid jab research. We talk with Frances about her journey and her work that is changing the world for the better. This episode was originally released November 5, 2018.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Frances_Arnold_Nobel_Recipient_Pioneered_Directed_Evolution.mp3

Since the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was first awarded in 1901, 117 years ago, only four women had won the honor, and in October, American Frances Arnold became the fifth.

The professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, received the honor for her pioneering work in “directed evolution.”

Frances’s work centers on the directed evolution of enzymes, proteins that serve as catalysts for chemical reactions that take place in living organisms, animals and people. In its most simple form, the process focuses on harnessing the power of natural evolution to solve problems for society.

Frances is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at Caltech.

Today, directed evolution is used in research laboratories around the world to create things from laundry detergents to biofuels to pharmaceuticals.

Enzymes created with through this process have been able to replace some toxic chemicals traditionally used in industry.

Frances shares the prize with George Smith of the University of Missouri, who created a “phage display” process for protein evolution, and Gregory Winter of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the United Kingdom, who used phage display for antibody evolution.

Arnold was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her undergraduate degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering is from Princeton University. Her graduate degree in chemical engineering is from UC Berkeley.

She has been at Caltech since 1986, first as a visiting associate, then as an assistant professor, and progressing to professor in 1996. In 2017, she became the Linus Pauling Professor. She became the director of the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center at Caltech in 2013.

Frances is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
How Directed Evolution Works
Directed evolution is similar to how animal breeders mate cats or dogs to create hybrids or new breeds of animal.

To conduct directed evolution mutations are induced to DNA, or a gene, which “encodes” a particular enzyme. That mutated enzyme, along with other thousands, are produced and tested to what Frances calls a desired trait. The preferred enzymes are selected, and the process continues until the enzymes are working to achieve a desired outcome or solution.

“I copy nature’s design process. There is tremendous beauty and complexity of the biological world, but it all comes about through this one, simple, beautiful design algorithm.” – Frances Arnold

Links

Frances Arnold Wins 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Caltech
Frances H. Arnold Group
Caltech scientist is among 3 awarded Nobel Prize in chemistry for sparking ‘a revolution in evolution’, LA Times
The Latest: Nobel chemistry winner credits team at Caltech, Washington Post
Nobel winner overcame personal loss, cancer, and being a woman, NBC News

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Jack Barsky: Undercover KGB Agent in America

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 05:16:42 GMT

Former Soviet KGB undercover spy Jack Barsky joins Tim to tell his story, and his long journey from Soviet Cold War operative to American citizen. Jack spent ten years in America as an undercover agent for the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. He’s the author of a book called, “Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America.” And he’s the subject of the podcast called The Agent.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Jack_Barsky_KGB_Final_auphonic.mp3

To get a full appreciation for the story you’re about to hear, you need to know something about the KGB.

The KGB was the primary intelligence agency for the Soviet Union, from 1954 and through the fall of the USSR in the early 1990s.

But the KGB was more than just a surveillance agency. Those three letters – KGB – struck fear into the hearts of everyday citizens in Russia. It also obtained a certain reputation in the West that enabled it to create no small amount of unease among Western leaders and nation states.

The KGB was both a spy agency and a secret police force. You didn’t want to get on the wrong side of the KGB.

But as you’ll hear in today’s episode, one of the more mysterious and notorious things about the KGB is you just never knew who worked for the agency and who did not. This created a certain paranoia among Soviet citizens.

Our guest today, Jack Barsky – not his birth name – was born in East Germany. He was recruited by the KGB and spent ten years as a deep undercover agent in the United States. As KGB operatives went, this was the elite of the elite.

Jack has been the subject of a 60 Minutes feature and numerous other news stories. He’s given testimony and speeches across the country. He’s now the subject of a popular podcast called The Agent. And he’s the author of a book called, “Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America.”

Jack’s time as a KGB operative in the U.S. coincided with the U.S.-Soviet tensions of the 1980s and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union. Those are the global events, but the circumstances of his path were not as well-defined as the history books might infer. His situation was a little more complicated.
Links

Jack Barsky (website)
Jack Barsky (author's website)
Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America, by Jack Barsky (Amazon)
The Agent Podcast (Apple Podcasts)

About this Episode’s Guest Jack Barsky
Jack Barsky was recruited by the KGB and spent ten years as an undercover agent in the United States. He severed his relationship with the KGB in 1988 and pursued a corporate career in information technology. He was captured by the FBI in 1997. In 2015, 60 Minutes ran a story on Barsky’s life and undercover work. Today, Barsky is a proud American citizen. He lives in Georgia with his wife, Shawna, and their daughter, Trinity.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Matt Campbell: The Ocean Hides Its Secrets

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 05:16:58 GMT

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter and author Matt Campbell joins Tim to talk about the story behind his new book, “Dead in the Water,” and what that story tells us about some of the darker sides of the international shipping industry. Matt Campbell co-authored the book with Kit Chellel. It’s a true story of hijacking, murder and a global maritime conspiracy.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Matt_Campbell_-_Dead_in_the_Water_auphonic.mp3

Over a three-year period, from 2008 to 2011, roughly 200 vessels were raided and taken by Somali Pirates. Most of this activity happened around the Gulf of Aden on the east coast of Africa, between Somalia, Yemen and Oman.

So, in July of 2011, when news reports came out that another vessel was attacked by pirates in those waters, it wasn’t a surprise.

But as events would unfold, this case was different.

On the evening of July 5th, the Brillante Virtuoso drifted about 10 mils off of Aden. It carried a cargo of fuel oil.

Earlier that day, the ship was to call into part to embark a team of three unarmed security guards to join the vessel through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Just before midnight, a small boat approached the Brillante Virtuoso. It contained seven armed and masked men…not three unarmed men.

They did not have a ladder. They did not have a grappling hook or any other way of getting on board the ship.

When they approached, they told the crew of the ship they were “security.”

The master mariner of the ship was not expecting security until the next morning. Still, he gave the order to let them onboard. No one checked their identification, and the master did not.

Once the group boarded the ship, they took the crew captive, most with the exception of the master or the chief engineer. They told the crew to take the ship to Somalia.

The master took the ship for an hour and a half in the wrong direction, and then the main engine stopped. Reports are that it broke down and would not restart.

That’s when an improvised explosive incendiary device – or IEID – was detonated. The IEID exploded in the ship’s purifier room, and this created an oil fire.

The crew, all except for the chief engineer, abandoned ship. They were picked up by a U.S. warship that was nearby. The seven armed men left in their small boat, but no one saw them go.

On the morning of July 6th the oil fire had gone out in the purifier room, but later in the day, there was a major engine room oil fire. It subsided. So, that by the afternoon of July 7th, two days after the ordeal started, much of the ship’s key facilities had been destroyed by fire.

At that point, the vessel was towed and its cargo was offloaded. The ship was totaled. But this was just the beginning.

Matt Campbell is a reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. He’s covered major political and business stories across the Asia-Pacific region. He’s reported from more than 20 countries on subjects that have ranged from crime and terrorism, to public health.

Given that, I had to ask Matt, what made this story different?
Links

Dead in the Water, by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel (Amazon)
Matthew Campbell (website)
The Hijacking of the Brillante Virtuoso, Bloomberg (2017)
Inside The Hijacking of the Brillante Virtuoso, Bloomberg (2022)

About this Episode's Guest Matt Campbell
Matthew Campbell is a reporter and editor for Bloomberg Businessweek and the co-author of Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy. He has reported from more than 20 countries, covering crime, corruption, terrorism, climate change, and technology, among other topics. Matthew’s work has been recognized with some of the highest honors in journalism, including Gerald Loeb, Overseas Press Club, and Society of Publishers in Asia awards for feature reporting. A graduate of Yale and Oxford, he lives in Singapore with his wife and two children.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Nadine Strossen – Free Speech Over Censorship

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 09 Jan 2023 05:16:42 GMT

Nadine Strossen joins Tim to talk about how to fight “hate speech” or harmful speech without censorship. She’s a best-selling author and a Professor of Constitutional Law at New York Law School. She’s also the first woman national President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In this episode, she talks about private company censorship, the challenges, some solutions and all of it as addressed in her book “Hate: Why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship. This episode was first released April 12, 2021.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Nadine_Strossen_on_Free_Speech.mp3

Free speech isn’t just an American issue, and it’s not just a First Amendment issue. Though it is important to note that the right of freedom of expression is the cornerstone to the First Amendment for a reason.

The founders believed that certain rights come from God. Even if you don’t believe in God, and that is your right as protected by the First Amendment, the founders would tell you that your rights are natural rights, not man-made rights. They are innate desires and drives for every human being on earth and that it’s not for man to deny them to others.

The right to express yourself without punishment is one of the most important rights they cited. The right to gather in groups peacefully together without penalty. The right to worship your God without coercion or punishment. The right of a free press to report news and information without government control.

History is ripe with examples of cases where these rights were used to spread hateful thoughts and ideas. At the same time, our country’s short history is also full of cases where courts decided that the price for our First Amendment freedoms is tolerance for the spread of ideas that some may see as harmful, hateful or irresponsible.

The principle is this. We must be willing to tolerate speech we don’t like in exchange for the right to deliver speech that others may not like.

In recent years, there has been a movement to try to control, prevent or stop the spread of speech and information some may feel are harmful. Their solution is to stifle the speech, de-platform the messenger. Or even de-platform the platform. Remove any opportunity for others to communicate if that communication does not meet accepted narratives. In other words, censorship.

This has been the focus of Nadine Strossen’s professional life. And with a resume that includes serving as the first woman national President of the ACLU, she has solid credentials on the issue of free speech and the battle against censorship, she has found allies from conservatives to progressives as well, making this an increasingly nonpartisan issue.
Links

Nadine Strossen Bio, New York Law School
Hate: Why we should resist it with free speech, not censorship, by Nadine Strossen (Barnes & Noble)
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, by Soshana Zuboff (Barnes & Noble)
Communications Decency Act of 1996 (in full, including Section 230), Columbia University PDF

About this Episode’s Guest Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen has written, taught, and advocated extensively in the areas of constitutional law and civil liberties, including through frequent media interviews. From 1991 to 2008, she served as President of the American Civil Liberties Union, the first woman to head the nation’s largest and oldest civil liberties organization. Professor Strossen is currently a member of the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, as well as the Advisory Boards of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Heterodox Academy, and the National Coalition Against Censorship. When she stepped down as ACLU President in 2008, three Supreme Court Justices participated in her farewell and tribute luncheon: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and David Souter.

Her 2018 book, HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech,

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The ‘Silk Road’ Story: Busting the Dark Web

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 02 Jan 2023 05:16:35 GMT

Former FBI Cyber Special Agent Chris Tarbell joins Tim to talk about cyber crime and some of his most groundbreaking cases, including the Silk Road that centered on crypto currency and drug trafficking. And they talk about the take-down of the “Anonymous” hacktivist collective. Chris’s specialty is cyber investigations. He was the lead investigator on some of the more notorious cyber security crime cases in recent memory.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Silk_Road_auphonic.mp3

Chris Tarbell is a former FBI Special Agent who focuses on cyber crime and cyber investigations. As a case agent with the FBI’s cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world. These included the arrest and prosecution of “Anonymous” and “LulzSec” leadership. And he was involved in the arrest and prosecution of the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace. This led to the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

Chris is a computer forensic examiner. He has engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes.

In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in New York.

He’s now the co-founder of a consulting firm called NAXO. In his new role, he helps businesses, high-profile people and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats.

Foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies also call on him to advise on investigative techniques.

As much as I wanted to learn from Chris about his career, the big thing on my mind was how does someone even access the dark web?
Links

NAXO website
Hacker and the Fed Podcast, Apple Podcasts
TorProject.org
The FBI Busted Silk Road but Not the 'Dark Web' Behind It, The Verge
Anonymous Superhacker Turned FBI Informant Named Sabu Remains Defiant Over Snitching, The Guardian

About this Episode’s Guest Chris Tarbell
A former FBI Special Agent, Chris Tarbell specializes in cyber investigations and incident response. As a case agent with the FBI’s preeminent cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world - including the arrest and prosecutions of Anonymous and LulzSec leadership, and the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace, the latter of which resulted in the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

As a computer forensic examiner with the FBI, Chris engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes. In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s renowned cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in the New York field office. He was the lead investigator on several of the Bureau’s most complex and cutting-edge cases, including the takedown of the billion-dollar, cryptocurrency-based drug marketplace “Silk Road” and the arrest of its founder, and the investigation and arrest of the leadership of the Anonymous/LulzSec hacking crews.

Prior to co-founding NAXO, Chris developed and led the Cyber Operations & Incident Response practice for a large consulting firm. He has extensive experience helping businesses, high-profile individuals, and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats. He is also regularly called on to advise foreign and domestic law enforcement officers on investigative techniques, and frequently lectures to business and government groups, including EUROPOL, on cyber threats and the means to address them.

Chris holds an MS in Computer Science from James Madison University with a concentration on Information Security. He has been certified by both the FBI and the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) as a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE). He has also been certified by the FBI as a subject-matter expert on cellphones and other...

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Procrastination and Your New Year’s Resolutions

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 05:16:04 GMT

Princeton University professor, researcher and author Nic Voge joins Tim to talk about procrastination, and more to the point, why we procrastinate every year just after we come up with those New Year’s resolutions. Nic directs Princeton’s McGraw Center Learning Programs. This includes the undergraduate learning program, and the graduate learning program.

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According to a study last year, the top three New Year’s resolutions for Americans are: exercising more, losing weight, and saving money. That study was conducted by Statista.

Yet by the end of each year, we often find we not only didn’t make the progress we wanted on those resolutions, but for all too many, we never even got started in trying to make that progress. Why is that? That’s where we started in our conversation.

Nic will be launching an on-line course on understanding and overcoming procrastination in Spring of 2023 at Voge Academy which is based upon his popular TEDx Talk. This new, innovative platform will include many more strategies, techniques and tools for preventing procrastination from preventing you from reaching your goals. Sign up now to receive practical advice about how to overcome procrastination, feel more motivated, engage productively and achieve success in the things that matter to you.
Links

Nic Voge at the McGraw Center, center website
Life Beyond Grades, by Martin Covington, Linda von Hoene, Nic Voge (Amazon)
Atomic Habits, by James Clear (Amazon)
Martin Covington, UC Berkley website
TED Talk: Self-worth Theory by Nic Voge

About this Episode’s Guest Nic Voge
At Princeton Univesity, Nic Voge directs the McGraw Center’s Learning Programs, including the Undergraduate Learning Program and the Graduate Learning Program. Adopting a socio-cognitive approach informed by self-worth theory and positive psychology, Nic explores the unique educational expectations of elite research universities and the ways students engage with and meet them. Recognizing the variety and complexity of learning demands students encounter in various disciplines and courses, our programs focus on assisting students as they transition into and through Princeton’ distinctive curriculum. Nic is a founding member of the Princeton Perspective Project, Principedia, and the Academic Resilience Consortium (formerly The Resilience Consortium).

He recently co-authored Life Beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation (Cambridge University Press).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Seven Voices: Your Favorite Holiday Memories

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 05:16:46 GMT

This week is Hanukkah and Christmas. We’re in the peak of the American holiday season, which started at Thanksgiving. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I’d take to the streets of Pittsburgh once again and talk to people about their holiday memories. That’s what this special holiday edition of the Shaping Opinion podcast is about.

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In this episode, we talk about some favorite holiday memories. You’ll hear from seven different people, each with their own holiday memories, and there’s one thing I can tell you, not one of them will talk about a toy they found under that Christmas tree.

Each person has his or her unique and special holiday memories. But as we’ve found in previous episodes like this, you may hear something of your own holidays in the stories our guests tell. In the end, there is a common thread across every story we hear.

To prepare for this episode, I spent the afternoon before Thanksgiving on a bench in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It was a nice November day in the city. Warm and sunny. People were in a good mood, getting ready for the holiday season once again.

The voices you hear are of Elijah, Sara, Katie, Jeremy, Deborah, Gina, and Heather.
Links

'Twas the Night Before Christmas: The Story and Trivia Behind the Beloved Classic Holiday Tale, Parade
How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start, History.com
10 Must-see Attractions During the Holidays in Pittsburgh, DiscoverTheBurgh.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Remembering the Sears Wish Book

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 05:16:27 GMT

Writer, editor, producer and actor Jason Liebig joins Tim to talk about the Sears Wishbook. Jason is the creator of a website called WishbookWeb.com, which has archived complete, high-quality scans of Sears Wishbooks and other holiday catalogues going back to 1933. In this episode, we talk about a holiday tradition sure to bring a smile to your face. This episode was first released on December 10, 2018.

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The very first Sears Wish Book was published in 1933. It featured dolls, a Mickey Mouse Watch, Lionel electric trains, fruitcakes, chocolates and even live, singing canaries. The store catalogue was 87 pages long, and featured 25 pages of toys for kids and 62 pages of gifts for adults.

The Sears Wish Book grew over the decades, so that by 1968, it totaled 605 pages. And in 1998, it went online with Wishbook.com

This year, Sears will not publish a Wish Book, but that is not stopping many from revisiting their childhoods through a website called WishbookWeb.com. Jason Liebig is the man behind it.
Sears Wish Book History
The first Sears Wish Book came out in 1933. Prior to that, in 1896 the Sears general catalogue included wax candles for Christmas trees. But 1933 was the first year Sears devoted a full catalogue to Christmas.

The term Wish Book was an informal name. The real name was Sears Christmas Book Catalogue.

The company made it a tradition to put colorful, warm Christmas scenes on the cover. The company published the book annually from 1933 until 1993.

The Chicago Tribune once described The Wish Book as, “so central to holiday expectations it read like a catalog of middle-class American Aspiration … To flip through one today is to see what we thought our homes and holidays should look like.”

The Wish Book was delivered early. It would usually appear in mailboxes during the late summer right when the school year started.
Links

WishbookWeb.com
CollectingCandy.com
The Sears Christmas Wishbook, A Holiday Tradition, Sears
Unsung: The Sears Wish Book, a Ghost of Christmas Past, The Chicago Tribune
Sears’ Wish Book Shown Through the Years, Business Insider

About Wishbook Web
WishbookWeb.com first launched in 2006, with the initial scanning project having started a year earlier in 2005. From the outset, the goal of the WishbookWeb project has been to archive, preserve, and share the wonderful holiday gift catalogs of the past – making them freely-available to anyone with a web browser. Inspired by the pioneering work of websites like Plaidstallions and MegoMuseum, who had already been sharing select pages of vintage catalogs online, our goal was to build upon that idea by sharing entire volumes, every section and every page. As you see it now, WishbookWeb represents the product of hundreds of hours of work to create the current archive.
About this Episode’s Guest Jason Liebig
Jason Liebig is a New York City based writer, editor, producer, actor and host. After spending much of his early career in the comic book business, most notably as an editor for Marvel Comics’ X-Men, he has since split his time between developing his own properties while still consulting and working on others.

In addition to his work with WishbookWeb, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. He operates a web site called CollectingCandy.com. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted for The Smithsonian, The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and more.

His knowledge of vintage brands and packaging (as well as his singular archive of vintage packaging materials) has allowed him to serve as art department consultant on such period television productions as AMC’s Mad Men and...

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Martin Dugard: Taking Berlin

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:16:50 GMT

New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard joins Tim to talk about his newest book called “Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich.” It’s the story of the Allies’ campaign across Europe during World War II as seen through the eyes of five key figures. This book is part of the “Taking” trilogy on World War II, and follows Martin’s work with Bill O’Reilly on the popular “Killing” series of books.

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If you listen to our episode #243 from earlier this year, you’ll get the story of D-Day, when the Allies invaded France during World War 2 to take back the European continent from the Nazis.

The D-Day invasion happened on June 5th 1944.

It was the most massive military invasion ever mounted in the history of the world.

This massive operation was called Operation Overlord. The allied commander was U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower. Their focus was on landing zones in Normandy.

The Allies had planned to land on those beaches in France and then work their way through Europe to the heart of the Nazi regime, Berlin.

Today, we’re going to focus on that story. The story of how the Allies mounted a campaign to take back those captive nations from Hitler and win the war.

This is the focus of Martin Dugard’s new book called, “Taking Berlin.” It follows his initial book in the series, which was called “Taking Paris.” I asked him how he sees this series unfolding.
Links

Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich, by Martin Dugard (Amazon)
Taking Paris: The Epic Battle for the City of Lights, by Martin Dugard (Amazon)
Taking Berlin: Kirkus Reviews
Interview with Martin Dugard on "Taking Berlin," Town Hall
Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara (Amazon)
War As I Knew It, by Gen. George Patton (Amazon)
Putin's 'Barrier Troops' are Straight Out of Stalin's Playbook, London Telegraph

About this Episode’s Guest Martin Dugard
Martin Dugard is the New York Times bestselling author of Taking Berlin, Taking Paris, Into Africa, The Training Ground, Last Voyage of Columbus, and The Explorers. He is also the coauthor, with political commentator Bill O’Reilly, of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, and Killing Patton. He lives in Southern California with his wife and three sons.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story Behind Those Hallmark Keepsakes

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 05:16:13 GMT

Hallmark artist and creator Tammy Haddix joins Tim to talk about one of America’s more lasting holiday traditions, our holiday ornaments and decorating the Christmas tree. Tammy tells her own story as a member of the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Studio, as a mother and a wife, and how all of that comes to play when she helps make the holidays that much more special for Americans across the country. This encore episode was originally released November 30, 2020.

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The Christmas tree made its American debut in the 1700s. German mercenary soldiers who were fighting in the Revolutionary War brought the Christmas tradition with them.

But it wasn’t until German and English immigrants came to America in the 1840s and decorated those trees with ornaments that the trees and the ornaments would become hugely popular.

Back in 1973, Hallmark introduced a new line of Christmas ornaments. The line consisted of six glass ball ornaments and 12 yarn figures. These are considered the first in a line the company calls its “Keepsake Ornaments,” combining a touch of Hallmark creativity and polish, with a feel of homemade warmth.

Since that humble start, the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament line has brought more than 9,500 Keepsake Ornaments to America.

The way the company describes it, Hallmark wanted to create ornaments with magical qualities that recalled a nostalgic feel, that celebrated holiday traditions, that recalled Christmas memories.

If you were to visit your nearby Hallmark store, or visit the company’s online site, you’d find a wall packed with a Hallmark Keepsake ornament for nearly every taste or sentiment.

Everything from characters from your favorite movies or sports teams, to your favorite cartoon characters or holiday traditions, all artfully depicted in brilliant detail.

Tammy Haddix has worked in the Keepsake Sculpting Studio since 1996, and has been with Hallmark for 32 years.
Links

Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, (Official Site)
Hallmark Ornaments by Year, HookedOnHallmark.com
Keepsake Ornament Club, (Official Site)
The Story Behind Those Precious Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, Southern Living

About this Episode’s Guest Tammy Haddix
Tammy Haddix is a Master Artist and has worked at Hallmark for 32 years, the first eight were spent illustrating everything but cards. Then in 1996 she transferred to the Keepsake Sculpting Studio and began a 24-year sculpting career that she absolutely loves.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Sal Piacente: Casino Stories

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 05:16:13 GMT

Gaming expert Sal Piacente joins Tim to talk about casino cheaters, scammers, and how casinos watch for and catch them. But that’s just the beginning. Sal has some great stories about his career in gaming. He is a consultant and a trainer for casinos and regulators around the world on gaming security.

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There’s a saying in some casinos. The eye in the sky don’t lie.

That’s a reference to the cameras placed throughout the casinos, and the people and systems behind those cameras to catch cheaters and scammers. But it’s much more than cameras. Casinos are some of the most sophisticated organizations that exist to monitor their facilities for anything that could go wrong.

And they need to be. With all of that money changing hands with the roll of the dice or the flip of a card, casinos are very attractive turf for some of the most sophisticated scam artists in the world.

When we talk about casinos, we’re talking about their big moneymaker games. Slot machines. Table games. Blackjack. Poker. Roulette.

Sal Piacente knows a thing or two about casinos.

He’s a native of Brooklyn, New York. He started his casino career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marines.

Sal worked his way up from dealer, to shift manager, to game protection specialist. Today, he’s a consultant to casinos on security. And he trains casino staff and students at the University of Nevada on gaming management.

He knows every way cheaters try to cheat casinos. He’s seen it all. So, when we sat down, I had to ask him, “What casino game attracts the most cheaters?”
Links

Sal Piacente (Website)
Woman Scammed Out of 10K During a 3 Card Monte Game at Perimeter Mall, WGCL Atlanta
The Theory of Blackjack: The Compleat Card Counter's Guide to the Casino Game of 21, by Peter Griffin (Amazon)
Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of 21, by Peter Thorp (Amazon)
Big Book of Blackjack, by Arnold Snyder (Amazon)
WizardOfOdds.com
Cashier Allegedly Used Photographic Memory to Steal Credit Card Info, New York Post
The Contestant Who Outsmarted the Price is Right, Esquire

About this Episode’s Guest Sal Piacente
Sal Piacente is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and the ultimate student of the game. Piacente’s interest in con games and scams began on the streets at a young age when his father taught him to protect himself from 3 Card Monte hustlers.

He started his casino career as a blackjack dealer in Atlantic City after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps. He then worked his way up from dealer to shift manager to game protection specialist, a position created for him by an international casino corporation.

Sal is also an instructor for the University of Nevada, Reno’s Gaming Management Certification Program.

He has parlayed his experience, skills, passion and knowledge of the various ways to cheat all casino games into a successful consulting business. Over the past 25 years, Sal has trained and/or consulted for dozens of casinos and regulatory bodies on four continents (and counting).

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Anthony Shore: Who’s In A Name?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 05:16:55 GMT

Anthony Shore is one of the few people in the world who makes a living at naming things like companies, brands, products or services. He joins Tim to talk about the magic in a name, and the work that goes into creating the right name so that the right brand identity can become a household name. Anthony is an expert in naming products, branding, services and organizations. For the past 30 years, he’s introduced more than 250 product and company names to the world. Many are well-known to this day.

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Most people don’t even think about it. Where did the name of that company or product they love so much come from?

Marketers and business owners know, however, that the right name can mean everything. It can mean the difference between success and failure. The wrong name can quickly put a company or a brand out of business.

Today, hundreds of thousands of businesses launch each month, and each one needs a name, not to mention names for certain products and services.

I’ve been involved in a few projects where we had to create the right name for an organization, a product or a service. While there is a process for that, the key is to start with a deep understanding of that product or service, the problems it solves, the solutions it provides, and most importantly, the emotional connection between your targeted audience and the problem itself.

Once you understand that, you can then start to consider the right language that communicates that, quickly, effectively, and almost instinctively.

That’s what I know. But I’m not the expert on naming. One of the leading experts on brand names is Anthony Shore.
Links

Operative Words
The Weird Science of Naming New Products, New York Times Magazine
Anthony Shore's Naming Partner is a Neural Network, How Brands Are Built
Anthony Shore - The Man Behind Some of the Biggest Brand Names in the World, WeTransfer.com

About this Episode’s Guest Anthony Shore
Anthony Shore is the Chief Operative of Operative Words. Over 30 years, he has introduced more than 250 product and company names to the world. Trained as a linguist at UC Santa Cruz, his BA thesis received the Chancellor’s Award and Linguistics degree Honors. As Global Director of Naming and Writing for Landor Associates, he led naming, nomenclature and brand strategy projects for Global 500 companies for 13 years. A year at Lexicon Branding and prior jobs as a photomechanical typesetter, software marketer, product manager, copywriter and door-to-door fundraiser have shaped his real-world and holistic perspective on brand naming. In 2009, he started his agency, Operative Words, to focus exclusively on what he’s good at: “Six words or fewer.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

James R. Fitzgerald: Hunting the Unabomber

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 05:16:21 GMT

Former FBI profiler James R. Fitzgerald joins Tim to talk about his key role in cracking one of the most notorious serial killer cases in American history – the Unabomber. James was involved in the pioneering of something called forensic linguistics. The FBI used this profiling approach to identify and capture one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber.

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One of the most notorious serial killers in American history was someone who terrorized the country in his own way over 17 years, starting in the late 1970s.

The mysterious killer became known as the Unabomber because his targets were mostly people associated with universities or airlines. The UN in Unabomber stood for university. The A stood for airlines.

The killer’s mode of operation was to send mail bombs to his targets, who were academics, business people and others.

Over the course of those 17 years – in 16 separate bombings - the Unabomber killed three and injured 23 others.

The killer was meticulous, leaving no forensic evidence that could be traced back to him in the packages he sent. No DNA evidence, no fingerprints, nothing.

The FBI created a task force based in San Francisco. They called it the UNABOM Task Force or UTF. An army of FBI specialists and operatives worked in the UTF, working to identify and capture the Unabomber.

Their approach was mostly traditional criminal investigation work. Use what forensic evidence they thought they had to create a profile of the killer. And then pursue leads.

Much of the initial profile was based on assumptions and conjecture that may have been consistent with other FBI cases over the years. But the case was going nowhere.

Then in 1995, the FBI decided to focus on the language.

If the Unabomber made one mistake it was his propensity to write. He sent a series of letters to major newspapers and magazines, including one 35,000-word manifesto that he sent to the New York Times and four other publications. That document the killer titled “Industrial Society and Its Future.”

James R. Fitzgerald and his team at the FBI focused on that manifesto and the Unabomber’s other writings to create a profile based on the clues they could find in the writings themselves. This new approach would be called, “forensic linguistics.”

Through a rapid series of events, the FBI made significant headway in the case, which culminated in the capture and arrest of Ted Kaczynski on April 3, 1996. This thanks in large part to Fitzgerald and his team, and their use of forensic linguistics to unlock Kaczynski’s writings.
Links

JamesRFitzgerald.com
The Fitz Files - Manhunt: Unabomber, by James R. Fitzgerald (Amazon)
A Journey to the Center of the Mind, by James R. Fitzgerald (Amazon)
Manhunt: Unabomber, Netflix
Text of Unabomber Manifesto, New York Times (archives)
Unabomber Case, FBI
The True Story of John Douglas, People Magazine

About this Episode’s Guest James R. Fitzgerald
James R. Fitzgerald is an American criminal profiler, forensic linguist and author. He is a retired FBI agent and best known for his role in the UNABOM investigation, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of Ted Kaczynski.

Fitzgerald's law enforcement career began in 1976 as a police officer in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania. In 1987, after eleven years of local police work culminating in his promotion to the rank of sergeant, he was recruited by the FBI. Fitzgerald was assigned to the New York Field Division's Joint Bank Robbery Task Force. In 1995, Fitzgerald was promoted to Criminal Profiler at the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, which later became the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, or BAU.

Fitzgerald has remained active in the fields of criminal profiling and forensic linguistics since retiring from the FBI in 2007,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Aaron Mackey: Swiping Your Privacy

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 04:16:08 GMT

Attorney Aaron Mackey joins Tim to talk about how intelligence agencies, law enforcement and private companies are buying your data as part of larger surveillance operations. Is this against the spirit of the Fourth Amendment rights to privacy? Aaron works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the EFF. The foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. It champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation. In this episode, Aaron talks about your privacy. How much you have, who’s invading it, how they’re doing it. And most importantly, what they’re doing with your personal information.

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You probably already know that you don’t have much privacy. When you leave your house, cameras are watching. You have cameras throughout the city, sending images back to some central security hub. Then you have cameras homeowners install to watch their own property. In the process, you can’t walk down any street without the possibility that you’re being watched and recorded.

But it’s not just cameras.

That smartphone in your pocket may be the most prolific source of your private data. The cloud knows where you are, where you were, how long you spent there, and in some cases, where you’re going.

It knows what you’re thinking about based on what it hears you saying through the microphone and the search engine in the device itself.

Did you use a social media app like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? It’s not just each of those sites that know what you’re saying and doing. It’s the network that the phone itself is connected to. They know…and they share.

They share your information, and you don’t know who’s seeing it, and what they’re doing with it. You don’t know how you’re being judged.

Aaron Mackey is a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I mentioned all of this to him, but I asked him the big question on my mind. We know these companies have our information, but is it all harmless?
Links

The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Big Brother Watching? Government agencies buying cell phone, internet data to track Americans, Just the News
Carpenter v. United States (2018) Supreme Court Case, National Constitution Center

About this Episode’s Guest Aaron Mackey
Aaron Mackey is a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). He works on free speech, anonymity, privacy, government surveillance and transparency. Before joining EFF in 2015, Aaron was in Washington, D.C. where he worked on speech, privacy, and freedom of information issues at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown Law. Aaron graduated from Berkeley Law in 2012, where he worked for EFF while a student in the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic. He also holds an LLM from Georgetown Law. Prior to law school, Aaron was a journalist at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, Arizona. He received his undergraduate degree in journalism and English from the University of Arizona in 2006, where he met his amazing wife, Ashley. They have two young children.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Worth Parker: Escape from Afghanistan

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 04:16:08 GMT

U.S. Marine veteran Worth Parker joins Tim to talk about an unprecedented story that centers on the shadow evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. The operation was conducted by veterans and others from throughout all of the U.S. military branches to evacuate civilians caught in the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Worth is a retired United States Marine turned writer, who tells us about his role in what we’ve dubbed, “Escape from Afghanistan.”

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In April of 2021, President Biden announced he would proceed with a full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

He announced a deadline of September 11th. Not coincidentally it was the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America.

By this point, 2,325 American soldiers had sacrificed their lives in the war on terror. By 2021, 50,000 Afghan civilians had died.

When Biden made his announcement, there were about 2,500 U.S. troops still in Afghanistan, but it wasn’t that simple. There were also several thousand American civilians and contractors on the ground in that country. And that doesn’t include all of the Afghanistan citizens who served as interpreters and in other roles for the U.S. government.

Reports were that over 81,000 Afghans had worked with the U.S. military during the war and had pending applications for Special Immigrant Visas.

By early Summer, Biden set an official evacuation deadline for August 31st. But it didn’t appear the government had a plan, and it was unclear just how many Americans and American allies were still in the country. Things were moving fast, and it was getting confusing.

On August 15th, the Taliban was taking control of Afghanistan as the United States was pulling out. The capital city, Kabul, was being overrun by the Taliban.

Worth Parker, a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, was in his bed in Wilmington, North Carolina after 11 p.m. that night when his phone pinged. He had left his Facebook app on, and a private message got his attention.

One of the interpreters he had worked with in Afghanistan needed Worth’s help. That interpreter was now a Marine reservist in Houston, but he had family in Kabul. He was worried what might happen to them once the Taliban was in charge.

This set off a series of events that would pull Worth Parker back into service, if not officially, but instead for those who had served America during the Afghanistan conflict.
Links

Aways Faithful, By Thomas Schueman and Zainullah Zaki (Amazon)
Russell Worth Parker Website
Inside the Shadow Evacuation of Kabul, Wired

About this Episode's Guest Worth Parker
Worth Parker, Photo Credit: Brian Hueske
Russell Worth Parker is a retired United States Marine turned writer. He lives in Wilmington, NC with his wife and daughter. Worth can find the soul in your story, put muscle on it, and let it walk around for a while. Give him a holler at the “Contact” page. He isn’t hard to find. He’s also far less self-satisfied than he might appear in that picture above. It’s just that he rarely takes a good picture so he’s getting maximum mileage out of this one. It was the Christmas card for the last three years.
Worth writes for a wide array of publications including The New York Times, Garden and Gun Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, Backcountry Journal, Shooting Sportsman Magazine, Salt Magazine, and websites such as SOFLETE.com, DieLiving.Com, and a number of commercial and non-profit websites.

When not contemplating the complexities of arranging the same twenty-six letters in ways that will matter to other people, Worth reads, runs ultra-marathons, and seeks reasons to be outside. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado, The Florida State University College of Law, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Masters in Conflict Management and Resolution Program.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Larry Csonka: A Football Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 04:16:57 GMT

Football legend Larry Csonka joins Tim to talk about his life and what football has done for his life. Larry’s a former fullback with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants. He was a Super Bowl MVP. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer and a College Football Hall of Famer. He’s a two-time Super Bowl Champion – a cornerstone of the NFL’s only undefeated team – with the Miami Dolphins. And he’s the author of a new book called, “Larry Csonka: Head On: A Memoir.”

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Photo credits: Larry Csonka Personal Collection

Larry Csonka reached the peak of his playing career as a football full back just as the game itself was reaching a peak of its own in the 1970s. The best analogy might be to think of yourself as a mountain climber, and just as you are the one to get to the top of the tallest mountain, the mountain itself gets that much taller.

That’s where Larry Csonka was, at the top of his game in a sport that had just taken its place atop all other sports in America.

In 1987, Larry Csonka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His Miami Dolphins Coach Don Shula presented Larry that day, and here’s what he had to say about the Dolphins, their championships, their undefeated season, and Larry Csonka:

“Behind all this success was Larry Csonka. He as simply the best fullback of his time. On first down, his average was 4.5 a carry. And when it got tough on third and short, everyone knew number 39 would get the ball….

Shula went on…

“Larry played his best in the biggest games. He had three straight 1,000-yard seasons in 1971, ’72 and ’73. We went to the Super Bowl in each of these years…”

"What separates Larry from some of the game’s other greats is his superior competitive instincts and his love of playing football the old-fashioned way. It was blood and guts. Dirt all over him. Never leaving the game."

And then Shula finished, “A five-time All-Pro choice, he had the respect of his peers. There was a lot of intelligence and talent on our Super Bowl teams. But I know where the heart was. Number 39. Larry Csonka."
Links

Head On: A Memoir, By Larry Csonka (Amazon)
Larry Csonka's Official Website
Larry Csonka Pro Football Reference
Larry Csonka, 'heart of the Dolphins glory days' on his life of adventure, and perfection, Miami Herald
Don Shula, Pro Football Hall of Fame

About this Episode's Guest Larry Csonka (After Football)
Larry Csonka and Audrey Bradshaw. Photo Credit: Larry Csonka Personal Collection

Larry has continued to work in the “public eye” through national commercial ads including the popular Miller Lite commercials of the late '80s, numerous celebrity guest appearances on outdoor shows and host of the original popular competition series, American Gladiators from 1990-1993.

After residing several years in Anchorage, he and longtime partner, Audrey Bradshaw, maintain homes in Florida and North Carolina, and a farm in Ohio.

For 16 seasons, he and Audrey Bradshaw, hosted and produced the outdoor adventure/travelogue series, “NAPA’s North to Alaska.” This top-rated, nationally televised program aired on NBCSN showcasing adventures in the Last Frontier, its people, culture, wildlife, rich history and Larry’s enthusiasm for outdoor sports and conservation. (1998 – 2013)

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Andrew Bustamante: Inside the World of Covert Intelligence

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 04:16:31 GMT

Former covert CIA intelligence officer and U.S. Air Force combat veteran Andrew Bustamante joins Tim to talk about his life as a CIA operative, the lessons he’s learned, and we get some insights into the world of the CIA. Today, Andrew is a Fortune 10 corporate advisor, and he’s the man behind the EveryDay Spy self-improvement program, and the host of the EveryDay Espionage podcast.

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Before we talk to our guest, you need to know some things about America’s intelligence infrastructure.

The United States of America has a vast intelligence community. To manage it all, the United States Intelligence Community, or IC, is an actual group of organizations that work separately and collectively to conduct intelligence activities that are supposed to support the nation’s foreign policy and national security interests.

Member organizations include the intelligence agencies, military intelligence, civilian intelligence, and analysis offices within federal executive departments.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees the Intelligence Community. That director reports directly to the President of the United States, who as commander in chief is also the chief of all intelligence operations.

The list of member organizations is a familiar one. The Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency or NSA, and of course, the Central Intelligence Agency or the CIA.

One of the more common points of confusion when it comes to the intelligence community is where the CIA’s responsibilities end, and where the FBI’s begin. And vice versa.

The FBI is part of the Department of Justice. It is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States. It is the federal government’s principal law enforcement agency. As part of the Department of Justice, the FBI reports to the Attorney General of the United States and the Director of National Intelligence. Again, the FBI’s focus is domestic.

The CIA is a civilian foreign intelligence service. It was created by President Harry Truman right after World War II. It is charged with gathering, processing, and analyzing information relevant to national security. That information can come from around the world. The CIA is not responsible for spying on American citizens. Though should American citizens be involved with any potential foreign threat, they could find themselves under the microscope of the CIA.

Unlike the FBI, which is focused on domestic security, the CIA has no law enforcement function and is officially mainly focused on overseas intelligence gathering.

The mysteries surrounding the work of the CIA has been the stuff of books, of Hollywood movies and TV shows. In the news media, it’s been the stuff of legend. You never know what’s really true or not. That question was my starting point when I had the chance to sit down with former CIA operative Andrew Bustamante.
Links

EveryDay Spy (website)
EveryDay Espionage Podcast (Apple)
Why Nations Go to War, by John Stoessinger (Amazon)
Sun Tzu's Art of War (Amazon)
Former CIA Agent Explains How He Made Targets Fall For Him, Lad Bible

About this Episode’s Guest Andrew Bustamante
Andrew is a self-declared “improvement junkie; a former covert CIA intelligence officer, US Air Force combat veteran, and Fortune 10 corporate advisor.” He is the man behind the EveryDay Spy program for self-development. It’s an integrated education and training platform that teaches international espionage tactics that benefit everyday life. He’s also the creator and host of the EveryDay Spy podcast.

The mental, physical, and social spy skills CIA gave me have helped me accomplish everything I’ve set my mind to achieve,” he says. “The same can be true for you if you are willing to listen, learn and train with me. I believe all people can learn to master their mind,

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John Abramson: Behind the Curtain at Big Pharma

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 04:16:41 GMT

Author, doctor and college professor John Abramson joins Tim to talk about his book called, “Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We can Repair It.” John has been on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for over 25 years, and prior to that spent many years in private practice. In this episode, John about America’s healthcare system, which often traces its roots to how drugs are approved for use and marketed to both doctors and consumers.

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Prior to the pandemic, most Americans knew much less, or even cared about how drugs were approved. Vaccines, drugs, medicines and other medical treatments are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA. Before the pandemic, most Americans assumed that the FDA and the federal government had their best interests at heart, and that anything approved by the FDA was good for them.

When TV viewers watched ads for pharmaceuticals, they assumed that these new drugs had to pass the test of innovation, of efficacy, and that in the end, the new drugs were improvements over the old drugs.

The pandemic changed all of that for some, not because of lost trust in the mission of the FDA or other regulatory bodies. And not because of lack of faith in the ability for pharmaceutical companies to provide lifesaving and health-improving treatments. Or their ability to be innovative.

What has happened is that America has gotten a peak behind the curtain, and it’s not sure it likes what it sees.

That’s exactly what our guest in this episode has spent much of his life doing. John Abramson is a medical doctor. He’s a former expert witness in numerous legal proceedings over the questionable practices of some pharmaceutical companies or executives. Like so many, he entered the medical profession to help people get better or stay healthy. Then he got his own glimpse behind the curtain.
Links

Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We Can Repair It, by John Abramson (Harper Collins' website)
Overdo$ed America, by John Abramson (Harper Collins' website)
Comparison of Upper Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Rofecoxib and Naproxen in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, New England Journal of Medicine (November 23, 2000)
Risk of cardiovascular events associated with selective COX-2 inhibitors, Journal of the American Medical Association (August 2001)
Vioxx Lawsuits, Drugwatch.com
Health Technology Assessment, PubMed.gov
E-Mails Suggest Merck Knew Vioxx's Dangers at Early Stage, Wall Street Journal (November 1, 2004)
Withheld Study on Vioxx Published This Week in Lancet, Kaiser Health News (June 11, 2009)
Diabetes Prevention Program New England Journal Of Medicine 2002, DiabetesTalk.net

About this Episode’s Guest John Abramson
John Abramson MD, MS, has served as a family physician for 22 years. He was twice voted “best doctor” in his area by readers of the local newspapers and three times selected by his peers as one of a handful of best family practitioners in Massachusetts. He has been on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for 16 years, where he has taught primary care and currently teaches health care policy. He currently consults as an expert in litigation involving the pharmaceutical industry and has served as an unpaid consultant to the FBI and Department of Justice. Dr. Abramson has appeared on more than 65 national television shows, including two appearances on the Today Show, and more recently on the Dr. Oz Show. He was written op-ed pieces in the New York Times LA Times and others. In addition to his book, Sickening, He is the author of the national best-selling book Overdo$ed America.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Josh Chin: The Emerging Surveillance State

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 04:16:55 GMT

Wall Street Journal Deputy Bureau Chief for China and author Josh Chin joins Tim to talk about his new book he co-authored with fellow WSJ journalist Liza Lin. It’s called “Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.” Josh tells about how China has led the way into a new era of mass surveillance on a scale the world has never seen. And it’s not limited to China.

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The idea of an authoritarian state spying on its citizens is nothing new. Many are alive today who can still remember the secret police of East Germany and their middle of the night raids. There are even a few who still remember the Nazis. And of course, the Soviet Union had its KGB.

In these countries, spies could be anywhere, and on top of that, you could never be entirely sure you could completely trust some friends or family. But the difference between totalitarian governments of the past and the ones emerging today centers on people. You just don’t need as many, or sometimes any, if you’re a totalitarian regime who wants to spy on your people to control them.

You don’t need as many of those secret police or snitches to get the information you want.

Today, the difference is, in a word, technology. And nowhere is this more evident than in China.

Josh Chin wrote a book that we will talk about today, and in it, he says that by the start of 2020 – by the start of the pandemic – there were almost 350 million cameras installed on Chinese streets, in public squares, in subway stations and around buildings. There were more than 840 million smartphones throughout the country in the purses and pockets of individuals. Each collecting and transmitting data on its user back to a central database. Organizing it to create a profile on the behaviors of each person.

In China, mobile payment systems log millions of transactions every day, and send that data back into the system, further completing the state’s picture of each individual.

For Chinese citizens, where you go, what you do, what you buy, the questions you ask search engines, all of it paints a mosaic of you for the authoritarian government. That profile is so full of data, so full of analysis, that the artificial intelligence platforms that follow you, may know you better than you know yourself in some respects. And perhaps even more chilling, the predictive analytics built into these platforms are quite effective at predicting what you will do next.

Machines that learn, not shadowy spies, can now listen, see and even think on an entirely new level. Harvesting data. And judging you.

Imagine the power that would give an authoritarian government. Well, you don’t have to, it’s here. It’s the power of Big Brother from George Orwell’s prescient book, “1984.” But Josh Chin thinks there’s another book that may have been even more prophetic. It was written in Russia just over 100 years ago, and it’s called simply, “We.”
Links

Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control, by Josh Chin and Liza Lin (Barnes & Noble)
Two Faces of China's Surveillance State, Wall Street Journal
Josh Chin's Website

About this Episode’s Guest Josh Chin
Josh Chin is an award-winning journalist and author who has spent almost two decades documenting the rise of China, mostly for The Wall Street Journal.

Josh was hired by the Journal to cover the Beijing Olympics as a freelance video journalist in 2008. He later joined the paper full time to run its China blog, China Real Time, which covered the country's development in every facet, from the delightful to the deadly serious. He switched to reporting on Chinese politics in 2013, covering Xi Jinping's crackdown on dissent, the activities of Chinese military hackers, and China's race to build technologies of the future.

In 2017, Josh teamed up with fellow Journal reporter Liza Lin and other colleagu...

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Mike Mariani: Moving On with Life After Catastrophe

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 04:16:56 GMT

Author Mike Mariani joins Tim to talk about what he learned about how people move on in their lives after enduring a life-changing trauma or catastrophe. He’s the author of the new book called, “What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us: Who we become after tragedy and trauma.” In this episode, Mike uses the famous saying that inspired the title of his book as a launching point to tell a story that doesn’t sugar-coat how people respond to adversity, while providing hope and inspiration.

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Friedrich Nietzsche was a late 19th Century German philosopher who had a great deal of influence on society at a pivotal time in history. His writings and his voice came along at a time when society itself was undergoing a transformation in both Europe and America, relying less on the agrarian economies of nations, and increasingly on an emerging industrial economy.

Leaders and peoples were starting to question the status quo, and Nietzsche offered up some of the answers. Yet there is one quote of his that has embedded itself into our culture, particularly in America, that is so ubiquitous that it is almost never questioned even to this day. Nietzsche is the one who said, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

This saying was the inspiration for a new book by Mike Mariani that states, “What doesn’t kill us makes us,” but he doesn’t finish the sentence. Does he believe it or not?

Actually, it’s not that simple.

Mike has had his own share of troubles in life, things that didn’t kill him, and for the longest time, he lived by that mantra, “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

But in the past ten years – Mike is only 36 years old now – he sensed that life isn’t so black and white. Maybe the issue isn’t whether something that doesn’t kill us should make us stronger or weaker, just different.

That was the starting point for his research and his book. If tragedy and trauma don’t make us stronger, for better or worse, how they change us?

To imagine the kinds of trauma Mike was thinking of, think of someone who lost the ability to walk, or someone who has been sent to prison for a long time and lost their freedom, or someone with a condition that prevents them from living the life they once knew.

Mike asks, how does a person go about reconstructing their existence in the wake of calamity after much of that existence has been irretrievably lost? What do those whose lives have been knocked off their orbits have in common? How do we make sense of and find meaning in a life where suffering and misfortune go uncompensated?

Before we talked about the stories or the themes of the book, I wanted to know how he researched it. Who did he talk to? How does he know?
Links

What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us: Who we become after tragedy and trauma, by Mike Mariani (Penguin/Random House)
Mike Mariani Website
Review: 'What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us,' Wall Street Journal
The Curious Afterlife of a Brain Trauma Survivor, Wired Magazine

About this Episode’s Guest Mike Mariani
Mike Mariani, Photo Credit: Diana Jahns

Since graduating with his MA in literature, Mike Mariani has worked as an English professor and freelance journalist, writing feature articles for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Guardian, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Newsweek, GQ, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, and The Atavist and essays for The Believer, Slate, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Pacific Standard, The Nation, and Hazlitt. Some of the topics Mariani has written about include the history of medical gaslighting, criminal cases involving mental illness, the opioid crisis, and the neuroscience of inequality. Mariani currently resides with his wife in Northern California.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Dr. Warren Farrell: America’s Boy Crisis

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 04:16:06 GMT

Best-selling author Dr. Warren Farrell joins Tim to talk about America’s boy crisis. Warren has written books that have sold around the world, and was named by the Financial Times as one of the world’s 100 top thought leaders. In this episode he talks about his book called, “The Boy Crisis: Why our boys are struggling and what we can do about it.” We dig into the challenges boys face now and how parents and others can help them become the men everyone wants them to be.

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Over the past couple of decades, there has been a gradual shift in the way society has approached issues affecting both boys and girls. One of the more surprising tends that has come out of this are many indicators that boys have suffered.

In all 63 of the most developed nations, boys are falling behind. They’re falling behind in school with scores dropping in reading and writing. Boys are more likely to drop out of high school and college than girls. They are more likely to die from an opioid overdose.

Boys and young men are more prone to depression and suicides than girls and young women. Once in their 20s, men are five times more likely to commit suicide than women. There has been a noticeable drop in the average IQ for boys.

These are just some of the indicators that Warren Farrell cites in his landmark book called, “The Boy Crisis.”

Warren has written many books about men and family over the years. He’s done an extensive amount of original research on men’s issues in society. As a result, he’s gained insights into how those issues start to take shape long before boys become men.
Links

WarrenFarrell.com
The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It, by Dr. Warren Farrell, Amazon
Attention Must Be Paid: Warren Farrell and the Boy Crisis, Psychology Today
Warren Farrell: Boys are in crisis. Fatherlessness is the reason, Associated Press

About this Episode’s Guest Dr. Warren Farrell
Dr. Warren Farrell has been chosen by The Financial Times of London as one of the world’s top 100 thought leaders, and by the Center for World Spirituality as one of the world’s spiritual leaders.

Dr. Farrell’s books are published in more than 50 countries, and in 19 languages. His most recent, The Boy Crisis, (co-author, John Gray), was a finalist for the Indie book publishing award.

His other books include The New York Times best seller, Why Men Are the Way They Are, plus the international best seller, The Myth of Male Power. A book on couples’ communication, Women Can’t Hear What Men Don’t Say, was a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. And Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap–and What Women Can Do About It was selected by U.S. News and World Report in 2006 as one of the top four books on careers.

Dr. Farrell has taught at the university level in five disciplines, and appeared on more than 1,000 TV shows, being interviewed repeatedly by Oprah and Barbara Walters, as well as by Peter Jennings, Charlie Rose, and Larry King. He has been featured repeatedly in Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Warren Farrell is the only man ever elected three times to the Board of the National Organization for Women in NYC. And currently, as Chair of the Coalition to Create a White House Council on Boys and Men, he is working with the White House to create such a Council.

Dr. Farrell teaches couples’ communication courses around the country, and speaks internationally on the global boy crisis, its causes, and solutions.

Warren has two daughters, and lives with his wife in Mill Valley, California, and virtually at www.warrenfarrell.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Eight Voices: Where Were You on 9/11?

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 04:16:45 GMT

In this episode we hear from eight people who talked with Tim to answer the question, “Where were you on 9/11?" But the real focus of this episode is on you, your experience with 9/11. Just as importantly, even if you were too young to remember or weren’t even born yet, this episode is all about why 9/11 still matters to this day, even if you don’t realize it.

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It’s now been 21 years since the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. Last year’s 20th anniversary activities are now behind us, and that pivotal moment in our history has returned to its trend of fading in the nation’s memory.

One thing we’ve done since the start of the Shaping Opinion podcast was to commit to doing our part to keep the memory of 9/11 alive. To remember those who died, those who survived, and those who tried to help. To remember the lessons of such a tragic event, and to teach new generations of the events and their lessons.

Let’s start this episode with a summary and a reminder of what happened that day.

On a beautiful early fall morning, 19 terrorists from the extremist group al-Qaida implemented a plan to hijack four commercial aircraft and crash those planes into strategic targets.

Those targets were the Pentagon, another site in Washington that no one would fully confirm at the time, and the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City.

The hijackers boarded planes at Logan Airport in Boston, Dulles Airport just outside of Washington, D.C., and Newark Airport in New Jersey. All four flights were scheduled to go to California.

American Airlines Flight 11, left Boston with 74 passengers and a crew of 11. This included five hijackers including the leader of the operation. The plane was destined for Los Angeles, but it was the first of two planes to hit the World Trade Center towers.

A second flight with hijackers aboard left Boston a little later. This was United Flight 175. It carried 56 passengers and nine crew members. Among those passengers were five hijackers. Not long after American Flight 11 hit the World Trade Center in New York, this flight, United 175, hit the other tower.

At 8:20 am, a third flight with hijackers aboard left Washington’s Dulles Airport. This was American Airlines Flight 77. The plane had 64 people on board: a crew of six plus 58 passengers, including five terrorists. The plane flew west towards California, but then after the hijackers took control, it turned around, back towards Washington and headed for its target, the U.S. Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

By 9:45 a.m., American Flight 77 had hit the Pentagon, killing everyone on board, and causing death and destruction on the ground.

Three planes had hit their targets, while a fourth plane was in the sky with hijackers aboard.

It’s United Airlines Flight 93 that had left Newark, New Jersey bound for San Francisco. It has 33 passengers and seven crew.

The flight had been delayed 25 minutes from taking off. This gave passengers on Flight 93 time to learn what was happening and to mount their own counter attack. They did, and they foiled the hijackers’ attempt to hit a fourth target. The common assumption now is that Flight 93 was set to hit the U.S. Capitol building. Instead, Flight 93 crashed into a field in Somerset County Pennsylvania. This happened just before 10 a.m. that morning.

Everyone on board was killed.

Less than 10 minutes later at 10:05 a.m., the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, onto the street below. The collapse sent a volcanic cloud of dust and debris into the sky and down every street in the vicinity. Then at 10:28 a.m., the north tower collapsed in just the same way.

In the end, 2,996 people were counted as killed in the terrorist attacks. This included the 19 terrorist hijackers who are on those four aircraft.

The people who died in New York, Washington, D.C.,

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Neuroscientist Karl Friston on Intelligence and Free Energy

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 04:16:38 GMT

Pioneering neuroscientist Karl Friston joins Tim to talk about a concept he’s developed called the free-energy principle, which may hold the key to advancing the understanding human intelligence as we know it. Karl is a theoretical neuroscientist. He’s an authority on brain imaging. His work has advanced mankind’s understanding of schizophrenia, among other things. At the moment, he’s becoming better known as the originator of the free-energy principle for human action and perception. In this episode, we’ll talk with Karl about that free-energy principle, what it is, what it means and what it can mean for the future.

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I hope you have your coffee and are sitting in a comfortable place, because this conversation is going to introduce you to some entirely new thinking from one of the world’s most unique scientific thinkers, Karl Friston.

Before we get started, you need to know a little about Karl, and you will need an explanation of some of the words we will use here.

Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist. As mentioned, he is an authority on brain imaging.

1990, he invented something called statistical parametric mapping or (SPM). invented SPM, a computational technique that helps create brain images in a consistent shape so researchers can make consistent comparisons.

He then invented Voxel-based morphometry or (VBM). An example of this is when he studied London taxi drivers to measure the rear side of the brain’s hippocampus to watch it grow as their knowledge of the streets grew.

After that, he invented something called dynamic causal modeling (DCM) for brain imaging, to determine if people who have severe brain damage or minimally conscious or vegetative.

He is one of the most frequently cited neuroscientists in the world.

Each one of these inventions centered on schizophrenia research and theoretical studies of value-learning – formulated as the dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia. To try to simplify, it’s the hypothesis that when the so-called wiring in your brain isn’t all connecting properly.

Karl currently works on models of functional integration in the human brain and the principles that underlie neuronal interactions.

His main contribution to theoretical neurobiology is a free-energy principle for action and perception (active inference). That’s what we cover in this episode.

Karl received the first Young Investigators Award in Human Brain Mapping in 1996. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999. Since then, he has received numerous other honors and recognition for his work.
Links

The Genius Neuroscientist Who Might Hold the Key to True AI, Wired
Karl Friston, The Helix Center
Karl Friston and the Free Energy Principle, ExploringYourMind.com

About this Episode’s Guest Karl Friston
Karl Friston is a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. He invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and dynamic causal modelling (DCM). These contributions were motivated by schizophrenia research and theoretical studies of value-learning, formulated as the dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia. Mathematical contributions include variational Laplacian procedures and generalized filtering for hierarchical Bayesian model inversion. Friston currently works on models of functional integration in the human brain and the principles that underlie neuronal interactions. His main contribution to theoretical neurobiology is a free-energy principle for action and perception (active inference).

Friston received the first Young Investigators Award in Human Brain Mapping (1996) and was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999). In 2000 he was President of the international Organization of Human Brain Mapping. In 2003 he was awarded the Minerva Golden Brain Award and was elected a Fellow of th...

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Encore: Miss Manners Talks about 21st Century Etiquette

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 04:16:45 GMT

Judith Martin, better known to millions of readers as Miss Manners, joins Tim to talk about good manners, an understanding of etiquette and civility are as important as ever. Judith is an author and a syndicated columnist. In this episode, she talks about her career at the Washington Post, about how etiquette and manners in society have evolved, and about her new book called, “Minding Miss Manners: In an Era of Fake Etiquette.” This episode was first released April 27, 2020.

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In Judith Martin’s official bio, she describes herself as being a quote – “perfect lady in an imperfect society.” She’s Miss Manners, the pioneer mother of today’s civility movement. And then with her wry sense of humor, she adds, quote, “Now, if she could only persuade people to practice civility as much as they talk about it.”

Her syndicated newspaper column under the heading of Miss Manners is distributed three times a week in more than 200 newspapers in the United States and other countries. Her column has chronicled matters of manners since 1978.

She’s written several books over the years, and she has received numerous honors for her work, among them the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to society as America’s foremost etiquette columnist and author.

In these current times, you wouldn’t be faulted if you believe that the world needs a champion for better manners now more than ever. Judith Martin is that champion.
Links

Minding Miss Manners: In an Era of Fake Etiquette, Good Reads
Miss Manners, Syndicated Columns
MissManners.com
Miss Manners Archive, Washington Post
Judith Martin Books, Amazon.com

About this Episode’s Guest Judith Martin

Photo Credit: Daniel Lake

Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, is a columnist, bestselling author of numerous books, and manners authority. Born a perfect lady in an imperfect society, Miss Manners is the pioneer mother of today’s civility movement. She lives in Washington, D.C. and Venice, Italy.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: The Story Behind the Electoral College

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 04:16:29 GMT

Author and Electoral College expert Tara Ross joins Tim to tell the story behind the Electoral College, how it governs elections and why it is still needed. Tara’s latest book is entitled, “Why We Need the Electoral College.” This episode was first released October 12, 2020.

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It’s happened five times. Five times a candidate won the presidency even though he did not win the popular vote. He won the presidency because he won the Electoral College.

If you’re wondering why the United States doesn’t just choose a president based only on the popular vote, the answer as we know it was given in 1804.

Some in congress wanted Congress to choose the president. Others wanted a democratic popular vote. And even to this day, many Americans believe that we do elect a president based on that popular vote.

The country’s leaders arrived at a compromise which created the Electoral College.

Tara Ross is a retired attorney and the author of four books on the Electoral College. While she is one of the nation’s leading experts on the Electoral College, she continues to find that most Americans remain generally confused about why it exists and what it does.
Links

Tara Ross Website
Why We Need the Electoral College, by Tara Ross (Amazon)
Presidential Election Process, USA.gov
What is the Electoral College? National Archives

About this Episode’s Guest Tara Ross
Tara Ross is nationally recognized for her expertise on the Electoral College. She is the author of Why We Need the Electoral College (2019), The Indispensable Electoral College: How the Founders’ Plan Saves Our Country from Mob Rule (2017), We Elect A President: The Story of our Electoral College (2016), and Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College (2d ed. 2012). She is also the author of She Fought Too: Stories of Revolutionary War Heroines (2019), and a co-author of Under God: George Washington and the Question of Church and State (2008) (with Joseph C. Smith, Jr.). Her Prager University video, Do You Understand the Electoral College?, is Prager’s most-viewed video ever, with more than 60 million views.

Tara often appears as a guest on a variety of talk shows nationwide, and she regularly addresses civic, university, and legal audiences. She’s contributed to many law reviews and newspapers, including the National Law Journal, USA Today, the Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Washington Times, and FoxNews.com. She’s addressed audiences at institutions such as the Cooper Union, Brown University, the Dole Institute of Politics, and Mount Vernon. She’s appeared on Fox News, CSPAN, NPR, and a variety of other national and local shows.

Tara is a retired lawyer and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Review of Law & Politics. She obtained her B.A. from Rice University and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. She resides in Dallas with her husband and children.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore: Sharyl Attkisson Focuses on “The Narrative”

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 04:01:26 GMT

Sharyl Attkisson joins Tim to talk about her latest book and the current state of the news media in society. Her book, “Slanted: How the news media taught us to love censorship and hate journalism,” centers on that dynamic called “The Narrative,” which appears to drive so much news coverage we see today. Sharyl talks of her many years as a network reporter and the way the media covers news today. This encore episode was first released December 7, 2020.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_Sharyl_Attkisson.mp3

Sharyl Attkisson has been a working journalist for more than 35 years. She’s the host and managing editor of a nonpartisan Sunday morning TV program called, “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.” She’s a contributor and contributor on numerous other news programs, and she’s an author.

In addition to her most recent book called “Slanted,” she wrote another best-seller called The Smear. Both books get into detail about what goes on behind the scenes in the news media. How some stories see the light of day, while others are sure never to see the light of day.

Sharyl has covered presidents. She’s won five Emmy Awards and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting. She’s worked at CBS News, PBS and CNN.
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Links

Slanted: how the news media taught us to love censorship and hate journalism, by Sharyl Attkisson (Amazon)
Sharyl Attkisson Official Site
Sharyl Attkisson on Twitter
Full Measure News
Busted! After lawsuit thread the New York Times goes into full retreat, NewsThud.com
Just the News

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Encore – Sgt. Leroy Petry’s Medal of Honor Story

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 04:16:45 GMT

U.S. Medal of Honor awardee Sgt. Leroy Petry joins Tim to tell his Medal of Honor story, from a life and death battle in Afghanistan to the very definition of the word, “honor.” Sgt. Petry is a retired U.S. Army Ranger who is one of the few to receive the military’s highest honor, and one of the very few medal recipients who have survived to tell their own story. This episode was first released October 20, 2020.

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Sgt._Leroy_Petry.mp3

In April of 1862, a group of Union Soldiers in the middle of the Civil War had an assignment. They were supposed to make it across Confederate lines to steal a Confederate train car and ride it to Union lines. Along the way, they were supposed to destroy track and depots, cutting off the Confederate supply lines and transportation.

That group of Union solders was called “Andrews Raiders.” Twenty-five men volunteered for the mission that ended in a dramatic train chase and capture by Confederate forces.

Eight of the original 25 volunteers escaped. Three were declared missing. Another eight were hanged. Among those who were executed was leader James Andrews. Another six found their way back to the Union Army as part of a prisoner exchange a year later.

That following March, the survivors met with President Lincoln who thanked them for their service and their efforts in the daring mission, and he told them they’d be the first to receive a new honor. The Medal of Honor. And with that, he had a prototype of the medal and gave it to the youngest member of the group, Private Jacob Parott.

Jacob Parott was the first in the Army to receive what is now regarded as the highest honor any member of America’s military can receive.

The Medal of Honor is the award for valor in combat for all members of the armed forces.

Since 1862, more than 3,400 such honors have been bestowed, many if not most of them, posthumously. Not many who earn such an award, live to talk about it.

Today, the Medal of Honor is awarded sparingly to service members who as the Army says are, “the bravest of the brave; and that courage must be well documented.”

Since the medal is awarded sparingly, and so many of those who receive it die in combat, there are few recipients alive today to tell their story. Retired Sgt. Leroy Petry of the U.S. Army Rangers is one of those few warriors.
The U.S. Army Ranger Creed
Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of the Rangers.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite Soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other Soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained Soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.

Rangers lead the way!
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com

Susan Wagner: An American Sculptor

Tim O'Brien — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 04:16:41 GMT

Sculptor Susan Wagner joins Tim to talk about a life as an American sculptor, some of her iconic works, and the creative process. Listen to Susan give insights into what it is about three-dimensional art, sculpture, that taps the human imagination, and draws us to it. She’ll also talk about what it means to “dance with clay.”

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/American_Sculptor_auphonic.mp3

If you were to travel to the Vatican in Rome, or the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, or just about any major destination in the city of Pittsburgh, you may have seen Susan Wagner’s work.

She’s a sculptor who focuses on classic depictions of famous and not so famous people.

Art draws us to it. Whether it’s a painting or a sculpture, it catches our attention and pulls us in. Whether it’s modern, abstract or classic, depending on our tastes, and maybe just the mood we’re in at the time, a certain piece of art may stop us in our tracks and make is look, and then think.

Why is that? That’s what we’ll be talking about today with Susan.

Since this is a podcast, and you can only experience this through your ears, you cannot see everything we’ll be discussing. We’ll do our best to describe the subjects, but you can also see for yourself by visiting our episode page at ShapingOpinion.com, or go to Susan Wagner’s website at Classic-Scultpure.com.

I first met Susan recently when I was doing research for a project that I’m helping with. But I had seen her work before. If you live in Pittsburgh and travel to any of the hottest tourism destinations in the city, you’ll see several of her works.

She was commissioned to create larger than life versions of baseball greats Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Willie Stargell. A short walk away, her sculpture of a police officer stands watch over the city at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

She’s created historical figures, works depicting medical pioneers, saints, and others. But my favorite one, I have to admit, is a fictional figure of a little girl in a garden at Pittsburgh’s UPMC’s Passavant Hospital. Susan Wagner titled that piece “Hope.”
Gratitude
Our thanks to Susan Wagner for her participation, and for her photography we are using to show you her work. Also, a big thank you to the BFG Cafe in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh where we did this interview.
Links

Susan Wagner's Website - Classic-Sculpture.com
New Abraham Lincoln Statue Unveiled - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pirates Unveil Bill Mazeroski Statue - Associated Press
History Behind the Statues at PNC Park - MLB.com
New Statue Pays Tribute to Legendary Transplant Surgeon Thomas Starzl - University of Pittsburgh website

About this Episode’s Guest Susan Wagner
Photo Credit: Susan Wagner

Susan Wagner is an accomplished sculptor and painter who specializes in figurative sculptures from a few inches tall to larger than life and Fauve style paintings which emphasize painterly qualities, the imaginative use of color and simplified lines.

Her mastery of the human anatomy and her ability to capture likeness and convey emotion through both clay and canvas is evident in her sculpture and painting portfolios and truly what makes her works outstanding and unique. Susan’s art is now displayed in public forums and private households around the world ─ from her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Vatican.

Susan’s art and work ethic are heavily influenced by her roots in the Pittsburgh area. Her drive to create was evident at an early age, she remembers digging the red clay from newly bulldozed ground around her home and using it to make sculptures. Growing up in working class neighborhood, Susan learned to stay grounded, be dependable, and always meet deadlines, making her an ideal artist to work with. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a double major in art and anthropology, she started her own freelance business,

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.shapingopinion.com