The Musical Innertube

It's warm water in the Pacific 3,000 miles from the U.S. - still, El Nino can affect our weather, bringing rain to the western and southern states and warmer temps to the north.  Penn State meteorologist Jon Nese says the difference this year is that El Nino is hotter than it's ever been.

By now, of course, you've already purchased your own personal copy of John Timpane's marvelous book Poetry for Dummies! But what if you'd like the author to come to your local bookstore or meeting place and read a verse or two?  This fine promotional spot will tell you how!

Reviewers call Lee Upton's book The Withers a dystopian thriller with a dash of the creeping terror of a Grimm's fairy tale. But it's also a story about friendship, hope, survival, and finding one's place in the world. And a cute dog named Petals.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we're proud to once again present our friend Mike Hingson talking about his miraculous escape from World Trade Center Tower One shortly after the first attack.  A story of courage and keeping your cool, and a tribute to those who saved lives in the midst of the carnage.

Musically, Bill's head is still in the 60s.  Don still lives in the 70s.  Glenn's time is the 80s.  John's head is full of lots of things, including his dad's favorite tunes.  Here are a few of their favorite summer songs. You may not have heard these songs for a long time, if at all.

Founding Father James Wilson.  Wrote "all men are created equal" 6 years before Jefferson. Came up with the Electoral College for the Constitution. A Supreme Court Justice who helped design America's justice system.  Jesse Wegman is here to tell us why no one remembers this Founding Father.

Don and John speak with author John Timpane (in a dual role) about his new book, Poetry For Dummies. John also talks with poets Mark Danowsky, Lynn Levin and Ernest Hilbert about their contributions to the book and about the current state of poetry.

As we celebrate America's 250th birthday, the nation still finds itself sharply divided along political, racial and cultural lines.  Dr. Catherine Meeks, who's spent a lifetime working on racial healing, talks about what it will take to make America whole again. 

Amanda Geftner is one of our favorite science writers, as well as a favorite guest! Her latest essay for NAUTILUS Magazine pinpoints September 1, 1939 as the most precarious day in history.  Did we survive? Listen and find out!  https://nautil.us/the-most-precarious-day-in-the-universe-1280956

News has come to you in many forms - newspapers, radio, TV, and now the internet and social media. Mostly, it was the facts; but sometimes those facts were twisted to sell more papers or get higher ratings. With social media, opinions can become facts. We talk with people who reported the news for their opinions on the facts.