Brian Anderson is the author of South Park Conservatives, and now he’s got a new book out with Adam Thierer entitled A Manifesto for Media Freedom. We talk to Anderson about efforts to restore the Fairness Doctrine, the prospect of media regulation via subterfuge, and the likelihood of efforts to squash the alternative media in the next Congress — as well as what to do about it.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Brian Anderson on Media Freedom

Can you still make it from scratch in America? That’s the question that Adam Shepard asked himself in college. On graduation, he took a train to Charleston, South Carolina and started out with nothing but $25 and a backpack. A year later, he had a car, and apartment, and $2500 in the bank. How he did it — and what he learned along the way — is the story of his new book, Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream.

We talk to Shepard about what it takes to get ahead, how better-off Americans have lost touch with the world of work, and what politicians and pundits ought to be talking about.

Music is by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Adam Shepard on Making it from Scratch

T. Boone Pickens is an oilman, a takeover expert, and a longtime observer of the American scene. He’s got a new book out — The First Billion Is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future — and a new wind energy plan for reducing America’s dependence on imported oil.

We talk to Pickens about oil dependence, wind power, NIMBYism, and the future of America — plus, how to get rich and the future of entrepreneurialism among American youth.

The Glenn and Helen Show: T. Boone Pickens on Wind Energy

Like many states, Massachusetts has an income tax. But in Massachusetts, people are trying to do something about it. Libertarian activist Carla Howell organized an initiative in 2002 that would have abolished the state income tax. It got over 45% of the vote, and now she’s back with another effort.

We talk to her about libertarian politics, politicians and taxes, and whether this initiative might start a national anti-tax trend. Plus, what you can do, if you want to help.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Carla Howell on Ending the Income Tax in Massachusetts

They used to say that it was a man’s world, but you don’t hear that much any more. Women outnumber men in college, get preferential legal treatment in many areas, and in general seem to be doing better, while boys lag girls in education and men generally seem to be doing worse. Should anyone care?

Yes, says Kathleen Parker in her new book, Save the Males: Why Men Matter Why Women Should Care. We talk with her about what’s going on, why the condition of men matters to women, and why many men are afraid to speak out. Plus, Barack Obama on fatherhood.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Kathleen Parker on Why Men Matter

Douglas J. Feith served as Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 2001 through 2005. His new book, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism, looks at the response to the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Afghanistan, and most significantly the Iraq war and its aftermath. Feith’s book is copiously documented, and he’s also made a lot of his documents available on his website. But the book, though selling well online, hasn’t gotten the kind of Big Media attention you’d expect. We talk to him about the war, the Bush Administration, the media, and whether the American political class is up to dealing with matters of national security.

Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com. Music is by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Doug Feith on War and Decision

In the 1990s, people talked about the “end of history,” when international power politics wouldn’t really matter. In his new book, The Return of History and the End of Dreams, Robert Kagan talks about democracy, autocracy, and the return of Great Power politics to international relations.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Robert Kagan on the Return of History

With Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama still slugging it out in the Democratic primaries, John McCain has already cleared the way to the Republican nomination. He’s spending his time laying out his positions for the general election, and one of the most important issues has to do with judicial nominations. We were lucky enough to catch up with McCain’s friend Fred Thompson, who talked with us about McCain’s positions, the current and possible future states of the federal judiciary, and whether there’s a place for an Attorney General Fred Thompson in a McCain administration. (“No Ma’am” he responded, when Helen asked.)

The Glenn and Helen Show: Fred Thompson on John McCain and Judges

Cass Sunstein is the Karl Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago, and the coauthor, with Chicago colleague Richard Thaler, of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.

Sunstein and Thaler espouse a theory of “Libertarian Paternalism,” in which people have more choice than they do now, but in which ignorance and sloth are exploited to encourage them to make good choices even when they’re lazy. We talk about libertarian paternalism, the virtues and vices of technocracy, and which Presidential candidates favor Sunstein and Thaler’s approach.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Cass Sunstein on Libertarian Paternalism

Michael Yon is a blogger, and independent journalist, and he’s actually the longest serving embedded journalist in Iraq. He’s also got a new book out, Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New ‘Greatest Generation’ of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. It’s a terrific book, and a must-read for anyone interested in the war on terror.

We talk to Michael about independent blogging, the situation in Iraq and how it’s changed since he started reporting in 2004, and his new book. Plus, advice for the Presidential candidates on what to say, and do, about Iraq over the coming year.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon on the Moment of Truth in Iraq

Tax Day is approaching, the markets are turbulent, and people are wondering how to move financially. So we talked with Jim Schlagheck, producer of public TV’s Retirement Revolution and author of The Cash-Rich Retirement: Use the Investing Techniques of the Mega-Wealthy to Secure Your Retirement Future. The book is interesting, action-oriented, and — in my opinion — more conservative and realistic than a lot that I’ve read. Our discussion includes what to do financially, how the housing bubble and the “coming demographic storm” of Baby-Boomer retirements are likely to affect investments, and what economic problems will confront the next President.

Music is by Mobius Dick. Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Retiring Rich Despite Economic Turmoil

We talk to Jim Dunnigan, publisher of StrategyPage.com and author of numerous books on war, intelligence and security, and Austin Bay, who blogs at AustinBay.net, and who is the author of both novels and nonfiction works on war and military matters. They fill us in on the latest developments in Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela, and talk about why the Obama Campaign is good for America.

Music is by Mobius Dick. Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Austin Bay and Jim Dunnigan on Iraq, Venezuela and America

Want to raise a rich kid? Or at least a kid who knows how to make money without waiting for someone else to offer a job? That’s what Troy Dunn offers in his new book, Young Bucks: How to Raise a Future Millionaire. We talk to Troy about why parents should want their kids to be entrepreneurial, how to encourage them to strike out on their own, and what the Presidential candidates are missing when they talk about economics.

Music is by Mobius Dick. Show archives are at GlennandHelenShow.com.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Troy Dunn on Making Kids Millionaires

With the Super Tuesday primaries just a couple of days away, we caught up to Mitt Romney and asked him about gun control — he says he’ll veto any gun control bills that cross his desk as President — about the economy, and about John McCain. Plus, whether Romney is mean enough for politics. Can he pull off a Turnaround?

The Glenn and Helen Show: Mitt Romney Talks Super Tuesday

It’s an bipartisan election double-header, featuring interviews with Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling. We talk to both about the Second Amendment, energy policy, terrorism, and Hillary’s stimulus plan. Plus, Helen cracks Glenn up with an observation on podcast tax credits.

Music is “Black UFOs” by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Rudy Giuliani and Gene Sperling on Politics and Policy

How can we break the OPEC oil cartel for $100 a car? Engineer Bob Zubrin has the answer — by requiring all new cars sold in the United States to be flex-fuel vehicles that can run not just on gasoline, but on ethanol and methanol.

We talk to Zubrin about his new book, Energy Victory: Winning the War on Terror by Breaking Free of Oil,about how oil money funds terrorism, and about how proven off-the-shelf technology could undercut OPEC’s power.

Music is by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Bob Zubrin on How to Break OPEC

It’s sure to make a splash, and it’s already got some left bloggers in a tizzy even though it doesn’t come out until next week. It’s Jonah Goldberg’s new book, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. The title comes from H.G. Wells, and the history won’t be news to people who’ve paid attention — which means it will be news to a lot of people, but Goldberg has a lot to say about the “progressive” roots of both socialism and fascism and the way they’re reflected in contemporary politics. Plus, thoughts on the Hillary and Huckabee candidacies.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo Automobiles. Music is “Nobody’s Full” by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Jonah Goldberg on Hillary, Huckabee, and Liberal Fascism

The Iowa Caucuses are just around the corner, and we thought it was a good time to catch up with Senator John McCain, who’s seeking the Republican nomination for President. (Our earlier interview with Sen. McCain is here.) We talked about the election, Supreme Court appointments, the Second Amendment, Iraq, and much, much more. McCain was rested, relaxed, confident, and full of I-told-you-sos, but then he was staying in a Holiday Inn Express when we talked to him.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo Automobiles. Music is by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere.

The Glenn and Helen Show: John McCain in the Home Stretch

The Supreme Court has decided to hear an appeal on the D.C. gun-ban case, meaning that the question of whether the Second Amendment protects a right to arms will be squarely before it. The suit was brought by Bob Levy, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, and we talked to him about the case, the law, and what may come next.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo Automobiles. Music is by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Bob Levy on the Supreme Court and the DC Gun Ban Case

First, it was the Dangerous Book for Boys, and now it’s the Daring Book for Girls. We talked to Daring Book authors Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz about girls, the outdoors, and the shockingly large number of fun activities that don’t involve cellphones, televisions, or videogames.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Advice for Daring Girls

We traveled to the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Conference in New York, and talked to energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, MacArthur Genius Award winner and science educator Shawn Carlson, and appropriate-technology entrepreneur Shawn Frayne. It’s a fascinating discussion of everything from how America can save energy and protect the environment without sacrificing our lifestyle, to ways of helping the third world, to techniques for energizing American students interest in science and technology.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Amory Lovins et al., on Science, Engineering, and Society

Mike Huckabee is running for President. He was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, he’s the author of numerous books including From Hope to Higher Ground, and the book about how he lost over 100 pounds, Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork : A 12-Stop Program to End Bad Habits and Begin a Healthy Lifestyle. He’s the Jared of Presidential candidates! Helen’s also a fan of his book on juvenile violence, Kids Who Kill.

We talk to Governor Huckabee about gun rights and gun control, health care (and diet), his support for the “Fair Tax” plan, gay marriage, and more.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo USA. Music is “Nobody’s Full,” by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee

We talk to Laura Ingraham about her new book, Power to the People, which looks at ways that ordinary people can empower themselves in the culture and in politics. We talk about large families and prejudice against parenting, against porn (we’re a lot more favorable than she is) and politics, plus a look at the 2008 elections and the immigration battle.

It’s an interesting discussion, and Ingraham is different from many other social reformers in that she largely stresses individuals using their voices and market power, as opposed to the force of law, to effect changes in culture, politics and media. She also suggests that individuals get involved in reporting on local politics, school boards, and the like, a place where one or two people can make a real difference.

This podcast is brought to you by Volvo Automobiles. Music is by Doktor Frank’s band, the Mr. T Experience.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Laura Ingraham on Parents, Politics and Porn

The sixth anniversary of September 11 is just past, and it’s a good time to look at where we are, and what to do in coming years. We spoke to Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, whose new book, The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, tells the story of his experience working at the Defense Department and as head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice, and also looks at how the decisionmaking process relating to terror is being “strangled by law.” Goldsmith talks about his experiences, his book, and what the next President and Congress should do.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo Motors. Music is by Mobius Dick. Visit our show archives for updates and prior episodes at GlennandHelenShow.com.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Jack Goldsmith on Law, Terror and Politics

Richard Epstein is the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, and the author of Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation as well as Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care?

These are topics of particular interest to us, as Helen is kept alive by Tikosyn, a somewhat unusual anti-arrhythmic drug. We talk to Epstein about the pharmaceutical industry, its critics, and what to do to promote new drugs and treatments for problems that people are dying from today.

This podcast is brought to you by Volvo USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Richard Epstein on Drugs and Health

Austin Bay is a novelist and nonfiction author (author of The Wrong Side of Brightness and A Quick and Dirty Guide to War), blogger and host of Pajamas Media’s Blog Week in Review. He and his daughter spent part of this summer following the route of Austin’s great-great-grandfather in the Civil War, shooting video and working on a book project tentatively entitled Eli’s War.

They passed through Knoxville, and we managed to have dinner with them. Join us for a talk about war, history, and family.

This podcast was sponsored by Volvo Motors.

Austin and Annabelle Bay on War, Family, and Life

We caught up with independent journalist Michael Yon via satellite phone. Yon, who’s been covering Operation Arrowhead Ripper in the (former) Al Qaedah stronghold of Baqubah reports on how things are going, what he thinks will happen next, and his thoughts on the likely consequences of premature withdrawal.

This podcast is sponsored by Volvo Motors.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon Reports From Iraq

He’s played with everybody from Lonnie Brooks and Albert King to Terry Hill and Balboa. We talk to legendary guitarist Hector Qirko about music and life — and his work remastering some of the late Terry Hill’s lost tapes. We also listen to some tunes by Hector, Terry, and R.B. Morris.

Links mentioned in the show include Hector’s own site, the site of R.B. Morris, and the Terry Hill memorial page. Plus, the Lonesome Coyotes.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Hector Qirko on Music and Life

Once again we talked to our two military experts, Jim Dunnigan of StrategyPage and Pajamas blogger extraordinaire Austin Bay, about the war, Iraq, and America. As always, they have a lot of interesting information and perspective that you’re not likely to get anywhere else. Listen and learn!

The Glenn and Helen Show: Austin Bay and Jim Dunnigan on Iraq

It’s finally happened: there’s a two-state solution in Palestine. The only problem is that the two states are both Palestinian, run by terrorist Hamas in Gaza and corrupt Fatah in the West Bank. Actually, that’s not the only problem; both groups are violent, welfare-dependent, and dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Find out who’s to blame and what the future holds in this week’s podcast.

Science is objective—-or is it? Not when the popular press, the schools, and scientists with an agenda get through with it. Join this week’s podcast as the Sanity Squad explores the wonders of scientific research and its discontents; including the unforeseen consequences of Rachel Carson’s vendetta against DDT, the vagaries of estimating AIDS cases in Africa, the vaccination vigilantes, and other victims and victimizers.

Click “More…” to listen or download.

Bill Frist isn’t Senate Majority Leader any more, and he says he gets more respect when he goes by “Doctor” than when he goes by “Senator.” But he hasn’t given up on changing the world, and he’s working — with Tom Daschle — on a bipartisan program called One Vote ‘08, aimed at helping the people that Paul Collier calls the bottom billion.

Since he’s from Tennessee, we also had to ask him what he thinks about the Fred Thompson campaign, and he sounded pretty positive.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Bill Frist on Fighting Global Poverty and Supporting Fred Thompson

The violent clashes between the Lebanese government and al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists in Palestinian refugee camps have left many civilians dead in Lebanon. But the mainstream media has been relatively silent about this fierce Arab/Arab violence compared to the fuss made whenever Israel or the West is involved. The Squad discusses why this is so, what’s behind the battles, and whether Vladimir Putin means what he says when he threatens to point his nuclear weapons at Europe.

The public figure who is simultaneously a leader is a dying breed. With elected officials that display a spine being so few and far between, the Squad talks about the nature of good leadership, taking responsibility for one’s actions in the era of the rote public apology, and whether or not leadership itself has gotten a bad rap.

Are we turning into a nation of wimps? Do boys need to be boys? Is there something parents and schools should be doing differently? We talk with British author Conn Iggulden, whose new book, The Dangerous Book for Boys, takes an old-fashioned positive look at boyhood, bravery, and the nature of risk, about those subjects and others — including the effect of modern parenting and education on military recruitment and the future of Western civilization. Is being optimistic old-fashioned? Plus, revelations about Helen’s misspent youth!

Music is “Status No” and “IWDWIST” by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere. This podcast sponsored by Volvo Motors USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Conn Iggulden on Boys and Danger

Part one of this week’s podcast focuses on conspiracy theories, and their origins in fear and denial. In part two, author, and marriage and family therapist Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of the hit TLC series “Shalom in the Home” joins the Squad as a special guest to discuss the breakdown of family life, the need to make judgements about right and wrong, and when to hate our enemies.

Traditional media are worried, and new media are excited. In both cases, it has a lot to do with where the advertising money is going, and where it’s not going. Nobody knows more about advertising than David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americas. Carat is the world’s largest independent media buying operation, and Verklin is also the coauthor — with Bernice Kanner — of Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here: Inside the 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind the Media You Constantly Consume. We talk to him about what’s happening now, what will happen next, and how the future of advertising might actually be more pleasant for consumers, as advertisers serve up ads based on things people are actually interested in.

The Glenn and Helen Show: David Verklin on Online (and Offline) Advertising

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President of France signals that it’s most definitely not business as usual there, although the French are hoping he’ll be good for business. Sarkozy is a rare and controversial combination for a French politician: an unapologetic admirer of the US, a man of action, and a believer in the value of work. What does the future hold for France under Sarkozy?

The CIA used to pride itself on its closed-mouthed secrecy. But ex-CIA director George Tenet is busily defending himself with a book tour and interviews touting At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, while the self-serving charges and counter-charges fill the air. Meanwhile in Israel, fingers are flying to assign blame for a less-than-perfect outcome in last summer’s war in Lebanon. And comedian (?) Bill Maher gets into the diagnosis act with his mental health evaluation of Bush, and believers in the Second Coming. And then there’s that miracle pill….

Can dangerous behavior really be reliably predicted? If so, what should be done about people judged dangerous when they haven’t yet committed a crime? What is the role of mental health professionals and involuntary commitment in balancing the need to protect society with the need to champion the liberty of the individual? Get the answers in this week’s podcast.

Recorded on the evening of 4/16/07, the Sanity Squad looks at the immediate aftermath of the murder of 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech. Why do these horrifying events, that in the past would have remained in the realm of the unthinkable, seem so commonplace today?

Hewlett-Packard is now the biggest information technology company in the world, having surpassed both the $100 billion mark and IBM. How did it get there, over a period of time when so many promising companies fell apart? That’s the topic of Michael S. Malone’s new book, Bill and Dave: How Hewlett and Packard Built the World’s Greatest Company. We talk with Malone about the role of old-fashioned values in surviving new-era corporate challenges, and the difficulties that HP has had in sticking to its approach as times change. It’s a very interesting story, underscoring the fact that the most important part of every technology story involves the people behind the technology.

This podcast brought to you by Volvo USA. Music is Indistinguishable from Magic, by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael S. Malone on the Past and Future of Silicon Valley

Are we infantilizing teens to the point that we are raising a nation of wimps? Is adolescence extended so long that people have grey hair by the time they become adults? Robert Epstein, Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Massachusetts and author of The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen talks about these questions and more on today’s podcast. Epstein’s new book argues that adolescence is an artificial and unnecessary part of life that people are better off without. Find out how your teen’s exposure to school and Western media may be setting him or her up for incompetence, poor judgement and social-emotional turmoil. What can you do about it? Read the book or listen to the podcast to find out. Or go take Dr. Epstein’s competency test to find out how adult your teen is (or how adult you are) at www.howadultareyou.com or visit his website at drrobertepstein.com.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Should Adolescence Be Abolished?

Nancy Pelosi’s recent, and roundly criticized, trip to the Middle East has stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy. Get the psychology behind the disaster in this week’s podcast. Also on the couch this week are the semantics of “War on Terror.” In which the term plays the role of unwanted stepchild.

The hostage drama is potentially explosive theater, produced and directed by the mullahs of Iran. In its role in the opening act, Britain seems to be giving a lesson in how not to negotiate from strength. What is the place of diplomacy in these situations, and when should the threat of force enter into the script? And what is the West willing to fight for these days, anyway?

The Iranian government has seized fifteen British sailors and marines who were patrolling the Shatt al-Arab. But somehow Iran seems remarkably unafraid that there will be any retaliation for an act that not all that long ago would have been considered an act of war. What’s Iran’s motivation? And what should be the West’s response?

The surge is well underway in Iraq, and by some reports it’s already making a big difference. We contacted the blogosphere’s man-on-the-spot in Baghdad, Michael Yon, by satellite phone, and got his take on how things are going. Some important bits: The dispersal of troops out of big bases and into Iraqi neighborhoods has had a big impact — somewhat like the “community policing” approach in New York and elsewhere — and is generating a lot more intelligence and assistance from ordinary Iraqis. “Just being there makes a huge difference,” says Yon. But don’t expect overnight results: “The surge itself will go on well past summer,” and it’ll be Fall before we can tell if the trends are good or bad.

Listen to the whole thing — he’s also got some interesting takes on changing tactics and changing press coverage.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon Reports on the Surge

Khalid Sheikh Muhammed has been singing like a bird in Gitmo. Whether the product of braggadocio and waterboarding, or the real deal, why are we focusing on the context of his confessions rather than the content of his crimes? Get inside the mind of the media in this week’s podcast.

The United States of the 21st century believes that it can negotiate with Islamic totalitarians post-9/11. This week’s podcast focuses on such frailties of human hearts and minds with input from an expert on the subject: Dr. Kenneth Levin, psychiatrist and author of The Oslo Syndrome: Delusions of a People Under Siege.

We talk to Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) about why he wants to be President. We caught up with Rep. Hunter as he was getting ready to go to Iraq, and talked with him about the war, gun control, stem cell research and cloning, and much more. Plus, what his son learned serving in Fallujah.

Music is by Doug Weinstein’s acid jazz band, XTemp, from the album Bugsy’s World. This podcast is brought to you by Volvo USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Duncan Hunter on Why He Wants to Be President

Run of the mill narcissicism just not cutting it anymore? The Sanity Squad diagnoses a plethora of new disorders for the politically conscious lunatics among us. From frankly regressive acute utopian disorder, and clinical paranoia with or without conspiracy theory, to Kim Jong il-omania, culture related acute psychosis, and Carter martyrism. Let this week’s podcast be your guide to the future of crazy.

We talked with Col. David Enyeart, Deputy Commander of Task Force Phoenix, the command dedicated to training the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.

Col. Enyeart talks about addressing corruption, the much-anticipated Taliban spring offensive (which he calls “make or break for the Taliban”) addressing corruption and illiteracy, and the success in recruiting efforts. His conclusion: “This is a winnable war over here.”

Also on the call are Mark Finkelstein of Newsbusters, Andrew Lubin of On Point, Scott Kesterson of the Huffington Post, and John Noonan of Op-For.

Music is by Mobius Dick. This podcast was brought to you by Volvo USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Training the Afghan Army and Police

Oscar night is Hollywood’s annual ritual of fashion and self-congratulatory spectacle. The Sanity Squad skips the glam gowns and the glitz, and focuses instead on the influence of the movies on politics, sexuality, and even on our perception of history. The Sixties were a turning point for film and American culture, and the Squad discusses another turning point, as well: the psychological and sociological effects of abortion on demand.

Reflecting on attitudes towards US Presidents then and now, greats and not-so-greats, the Squad talks about what’s happened to the office over time, and how the judgments of history compare to today’s opinions. Can you guess which President the London Examiner was referring to when it wrote that the man had “murdered the Constitution of the United States” and “overthrown all for which Washington fought and Patrick Henry spoke?” Hint: it wasn’t George Bush.

It’s a brother-sister novelist act, as we talk to Claire Berlinski, author of last year’s powerful nonfiction book, Menace in Europe and now of a new novel of Internet dating and espionage, Lion Eyes — and her brother, Mischa Berlinski, whose novel Fieldwork, on missionaries, anthropologists, and murder in the hills of Thailand was published on the same day as Lion Eyes.

The conversation ranges from Internet dating and blogger romance, to the historical conflicts between missionaries and anthropologists, to the advantages of novel-writing over having to hold a real job. Plus, a year-later look at how the predictions in Menace in Europe — which is now out in paperback — have held up. (And last year’s interview with Claire Berlinski on that book can be found here.)

Music is “Black UFOs” and “Temptation” by Mobius Dick. This podcast sponsored by Volvo Motors USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Claire and Mischa Berlinski on Two New Novels

John Ondrasik is Five for Fighting. Unless you’ve been living in a cave in Waziristan, you’ve heard his songs like 100 Years, Superman, and The Riddle. But the title cut to his latest album, Two Lights, turns out to come from a lunch with none other than blogosphere fave Victor Davis Hanson. We talk to Ondrasik about politics in the music business, what drives his songwriting, what aspiring musicians should do to make it, and more — including his new web-video-based viral charity enterprise, What Kind of World Do You Want? (Hear his music on iTunes here.)

Music is by Five for Fighting. This podcast is sponsored by Volvo USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Five for Fighting’s John Ondraisik on War, Peace, and Music

Now that presidential campaigns last two years — and that’s just officially — an election is going on just about half the time, the other half being spent recovering from the last one. At least the ‘06 - ‘08 campaign isn’t lacking for interesting candidates, featuring one of the most diverse groups ever. The Squad takes a look at the frontrunners, the interminable process, and the terminal effect it’s having on the electorate.

The IPCC report on climate change calls for drastic cuts in CO₂ emissions. How do we figure out if such measures are necessary—and what would be the costs of making an error in either direction? Has “Chicken Little left the barnyard?” This hot topic, and the efforts in the MSM and Congress to rein Bush in on Iran in this week’s Sanity Squad.

Michael Yon is back in Iraq, where he’s been for over a month now. We caught up to him via satellite phone and got his views on the surge (it will be “unlike anything we’ve seen before”), the status of Iraqi security forces (they’ve made “tremendous progress” since he was there last year, but things are “still dicey”), evidence of Iranian involvement in terror attacks in Iraq, what the Iraqi public thinks, and much more.

Music is “Superluminal,” by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon from Camp Victory

Pioneering forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass is the inventor of the University of Tennessee “body farm,” made famous by Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling novel of the same name. Bass is also, with Jon Jefferson, a bestselling author in his own right under the name Jefferson Bass. We talk about forensic anthropology, their new novel Flesh and Bone, what CSI gets wrong, and how to have fun in Chattanooga’s gay bars.

Music: “Temptation,” by Mobius Dick.

The Glenn and Helen Show: I See Dead People

Multi-culturalism has met the Holocaust. There’s a movement afoot to make Holocaust remembrances more “inclusive;” especially in Britain, where the Muslim Council has been campaigning to replace “Holocaust Memorial Day” with “Genocide Day,” and proposing that the latter should include the so-called Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. The Squad discusses the benefits of victimhood, Kerry’s dissing of the US, Carter’s attitude towards history, and the only cause the Left ever championed and then abandoned.

Benny Morris’s sobering Jerusalem Post article paints a picture of a Second Holocaust—a nuclear-armed Iran willing to sacrifice the loss of millions of its own people to have the satisfaction of destroying Israel, and an Israel whose own nuclear weapons would be of no real use against an enemy so resistant to deterrence. Is there any way out of this dreadful dilemma? The Sanity Squad discusses paranoia vs. denial, the West as the enabler of its own enemies, and Iran’s vulnerabilities.

People in the newspaper business seem awfully gloomy about the future right now, and with reason. But there’s one bright spot: Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz, who describes himself as “the last person in the country with ‘newspaper publisher’ in his title who nonetheless is an optimist.”

We’ll talk about why he’s optimistic, about how the Wall Street Journal’s online edition came to be the fourth biggest newspaper in the country — bigger than the Washington Post or the L.A. Times — and how newspapers, and newspaper publishers, should be adapting to the new era. Plus, his view of blogging as “a great journalistic art form.”

Music is “Superluminal” by Mobius Dick. This podcast sponsored by Volvo USA.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Gordon Crovitz on the WSJ, Old and New Media, and Blogging as Art Form

An article in this month’s Psychology Today purports to describe what goes into the making of liberals and conservatives, and the motivations behind post-9/11 change. Short version of the answer: conservatives are fearful, liberals rational. The Sanity Squad has plenty to say about that, and the difference between headlights and lamps, epiphanies, ambiguity, tipping points, and political paranoia.

Mitt Romney has officia