Best Gonzo Greg Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 667: ROB JOHNSON & I RESPOND TO ELECTION-Every election now a vote for change. Seeds sown for last 40 years. 1:00:00

6d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

As we have for the last few elections, ROB JOHNSON - Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and host of podcast ECONOMICS & BEYOND - and I offer our post-mortems. Biden’s late withdrawal meant the Dems skipped primaries, debates, and a convention that would have tested candidates and messages. 2024 was another “change”…

1
Episode 666: She got Alito to confess his politics-LAUREN WINDSOR-new doc-GONZO FOR DEMOCRACY 42:10

20d ago42:10

42:10

LAUREN WINDSOR calls herself an “advocacy journalist”. Her biggest scoops usually come when she goes undercover among right-wing pols and donors to secretly record things they don’t want us to hear. Her accidental truth-tellers include Sam Alito, Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, John Eastman, and Ted Cruz. Executive producer of The Undercurrent and exec…

1
Episode 665: STEVE UJLAKI-Must See Doc-BAD FAITH: Christian Nationalism’s Unholy War on Democracy 1:00:00

27d ago1:00:00

1:00:00

STEPHEN UJLAKI’s documentary BAD FAITH opens with the following text: “Christian Nationalism is a political movement that believes America was founded as a Christian nation privileging Christianity over all other faiths. Masquerading as religion, this ideology exploits scripture and sacred symbols to achieve extremist objectives.” The film lays out…

1
Episode 664: GREG PALAST-VIGILANTES INC-GOP takes voter suppression & election theft to next level 34:42

1M ago34:42

34:42

I’ve been talking about voter suppression with GREG PALAST since 2002. Known for his investigative reports for BBC, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone, his new documentary, VIGILANTES INC: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen, reveals that in 43 states individual citizens are able to challenge …

1
Episode 663: WENDELL POTTER-Health Insurance Whistle-Blower-Profits over patients and only getting worse 1:03:07

1M ago1:03:07

1:03:07

I get the dirt from WENDELL POTTER about our broken healthcare system, especially the role of insurance companies, who consistently put profit above the health and lives of patients. Potter walked away from his job at one of the country's largest health insurers to emerge as a critic of the industry and an advocate of reform. He’s a best-selling au…

1
Episode 662: KEVIN BOYLE, THE SHATTERING: America in the 60s-Are the Silent Majority today’s undecided MidWest voters? 58:01

2M ago58:01

58:01

Here’s my 2022 conversation with National Book Award winner, KEVIN BOYLE, about his book, THE SHATTERING: AMERICA IN THE 1960s. He reminds us that, after the Depression and two World Wars, the Silent Majority craved security not change. I suspect this history lesson offers us a window into the minds and the worldviews of many of the crucial undecid…

1
Episode 661: ARLIE HOCHSCHILD-STOLEN PRIDE: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right 1:00:27

2M ago1:00:27

1:00:27

ARLIE HOCHSCHILD is the author of best-seller, STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND: Anger & Mourning on the American Right. Five years talking with folks in Southern Louisiana revealed a “deep story” that holds their political contradictions together - they’re waiting in line for the American Dream and Democrats help others - Blacks, Latinos, LGBTQ - cut i…

1
Episode 660: How progressives win in rural America-CHLOE MAXMIN & CANYON WOODWARD, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL 56:06

2M ago56:06

56:06

The Democrats have for too long ceded rural voters to the GOP. When the solution to minority rule is voting, connecting with and winning over rural voters is essential. Here’s my 2022 conversation with Maine state senator CHLOE MAXMIN and CANYON WOODWARD about the the book they’ve co-authored, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL. It tells the story of their winning …

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Episode 659: The Walls We Don’t See-RICHARD KAHLENBERG, EXCLUDED: Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, Class Bias 1:11:35

2M ago1:11:35

1:11:35

Blind spots. In his book, EXCLUDED: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See, RICHARD KAHLENBERG points out not only how restrictive zoning laws negatively influence all sorts of things in this country, but also that such laws are more likely or more restrictive in communities that are otherwise more liberal and progre…

1
Episode 658: 1) PHIL DONAHUE (2007), 2) MUHAMMAD YUNUS (2008) - Wise elders in the news 59:36

3M ago59:36

59:36

This episode, archived conversations with two wise elders recently in the news. First, my 2007 conversation with PHIL DONAHUE who died August 18th at the age of 88. Donahue always seemed to be as focused on the common good as he was on ratings - while delivering well on both. We talked about his decades of work as well as Body of War, the documenta…

1
Episode 657: RANDY OLSON - HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE - a simple method to create compelling stories 1:05:32

3M ago1:05:32

1:05:32

RANDY OLSON earned a Harvard Ph.D. in Biology and was a tenured professor when he quit and moved to LA to attend USC film school. His goal: help scientists learn to communicate better. We receive so much input that we can no longer deal with separate bits of information, so we look for narratives. He’s the author of DON’T BE SUCH A SCIENTIST and HO…

1
Episode 656: JOSHUA DOUGLAS (2019) VOTE FOR US: How to Take Back Our Elections & Change the Future of Voting 59:03

3M ago59:03

59:03

80-some days till the polls close. The Harris-Walz campaign is riding a wave of momentum in the country to move past Trump that feels sustainable to me. I assume Trump/the Right/the GOP will get very dirty. That’s a reality, but so is my 2019 conversation with JOSHUA DOUGLAS, about his book - VOTE FOR US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change t…

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Episode 655: BILLY WIMSATT, MOVEMENT VOTER PROJECT - a voice of both grassroots & donors in the Biden-Harris-Walz relaunch 1:01:24

3M ago1:01:24

1:01:24

BILLY WIMSATT is founder and executive director of Movement Voter Project and Movement Voter PAC. MVP helps progressive donors invest in the election efforts of local community-based organizations in battleground states. In that role, during the Biden-Harris-Walz relaunch, Wimsatt and MVP listened to and at times spoke for both grassroots organizer…

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Episode 654: ROB JOHNSON of INET* & I (11-05-2020) - first show following Biden’s election - *Institute for New Economic Thinking 1:02:13

4M ago1:02:13

1:02:13

Given Biden’s exit from the race, I thought it might be interesting to replay the first episode I recorded following his election. Here is my November 5th, 2020 conversation with Rob Johnson, Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Rob and I have made a point to talk after the last several elections. This episode is very much…

1
Episode 653: GEORGE PACKER-WHAT WILL BECOME OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION? Phoenix AZ: Drought, Delusion, and Division 1:02:20

4M ago1:02:20

1:02:20

I’ve talked with journalist and best-selling author, GEORGE PACKER, about 2013’s National Book Award-winning The UNWINDING and 2021’s LAST BEST HOPE, in which he offers four narratives of America that motivate and divide us. Today our jumping off point will be his current cover story in The Atlantic on Phoenix, Arizona, WHAT WILL BECOME OF AMERICAN…

1
Episode 652: 1) BUCKMINSTER FULLER-in the words of his daughter 2) STUART KAUFFMAN-Does life’s ceaseless creativity=God? REINVENTING THE SACRED 58:04

4M ago58:04

58:04

Two conversations about the big picture. First, 20 years ago USPS released a stamp honoring inventor and multi-hyphenate visionary Bucky Fuller. Here’s my 2004 conversation about the man and his work with his daughter, ALLEGRA FULLER SNYDER. Buckminster Fuller Institute: bfi.org. Second, one of my favorites, my 2008 conversation with MacArthur-winn…

1
Episode 651: ZOE SCHLANGER, THE LIGHT EATERS: How the World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life 57:24

4M ago57:24

57:24

This week, we step aside from today’s news to dig into a story millions of years in the making, as I speak with ZOE SCHLANGER about her best-selling THE LIGHT EATERS: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. What are we to make of a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a f…

1
Episode 650: MARK BITTMAN (2021)-ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, JUNK: A history of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal 59:47

5M ago59:47

59:47

As Congress negotiates a new “Farm Bill” – they do so every 5 years – will health, nutrition, poverty, and nature/climate get seats at the table or will Big Ag and Big Food dominate and dictate as usual? Speaking of food, here’s my 2021 conversation with MARK BITTMAN, longtime fixture at the New York Times, author of 30 books, about one of his late…

1
Episode 649: ARI BERMAN, MINORITY RULE: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People & the Fight to Resist It. 1:00:00

5M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

The US holds one national popular vote and the Republican party has won that vote once since 1988, that’s 36 years. Yet they’ve held the presidency nearly 12 of those years. Since Nixon, they’ve appointed 15 Supreme Court justices, to the Democrats 4. I speak with ARI BERMAN about his new book, MINORITY RULE: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of th…

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Episode 648: Biden awards FATHER GREGORY BOYLE the Medal of Freedom-Here’s 2010 conversation re Homeboy Industries and his book Tattoos on the Heart 58:32

5M ago58:32

58:32

In May, FATHER GREGORY BOYLE, founder of HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES in Los Angeles — the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the world — was honored by President Biden with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Homeboy said that Boyle “…exemplifies the transformative power of compassion, forgiveness, and second chances. F…

1
Episode 647: RICHARD CIZIK, Evangelicals for Democracy - after 28 years at National Association of Evangelicals 1:08:55

5M ago1:08:55

1:08:55

With an eye on the election, I speak with RICHARD CIZIK, founder of Evangelicals for Democracy, which aims to build a community of evangelicals across the political spectrum who champion democracy as an act of Christian faith. Earlier he spent nearly three decades deep inside the Religious Right. In 2008, after 28 years at the National Association …

1
Episode 646: DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN(2013)-THE BULLY PULPIT-Teddy Roosevelt took on the Robber Barons and won 58:36

6M ago58:36

58:36

In response to the wonderful positive reaction to last week’s episode with DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN on her new best-seller An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, here’s our 2013 conversation re her book, THE BULLY PULPIT: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, a history of the first decade of the …

1
Episode 645: DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN-Best-seller: AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY: A Personal History of the 1960s. 1:16:39

6M ago1:16:39

1:16:39

In this recording of a recent LiveTalksLA event, I speak with historian and best-selling author, DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, about her latest book, AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY: A Personal History of the 1960s, which combines personal memoir with presidential history. Her late husband of 42 years, Dick Goodwin, worked closely with JFK and LBJ in the White Ho…

1
Episode 644: Federal Judge JED RAKOFF(2021)-WHY THE INNOCENT PLEAD GUILTY AND THE GUILTY GO FREE 59:22

6M ago59:22

59:22

As perhaps too much public attention is focused these days on the Manhattan trial of one Donald J. Trump, here’s my 2021 conversation with Federal Judge JED RAKOFF of the Southern District of NY. In his book, WHY THE INNOCENT PLEAD GUILTY AND THE GUILTY GO FREE, RAKOFF makes clear that the US justice system bears little relationship to what the fou…

1
Episode 643: CHUCK COLLINS-Inequality Getting Worse-Corporations pay top brass more than they pay in taxes 1:00:49

6M ago1:00:49

1:00:49

I don’t know if my big question is “Why don’t the rich/super-rich and their corporations get the value of a society that works?” Or is it - “Why don’t they care?” Despite the knowledge that it might be impossible, moving society in that direction calls for getting ideas and models out into the world that show it’s actually possible to reduce inequa…

1
Episode 642: JACK KORNFIELD & TRUDY GOODMAN (2015)-Sages, mentors, friends-Reflections on mindfulness in the US 57:05

7M ago57:05

57:05

Earlier this year my dear friend, meditation teacher, TRUDY GOODMAN, experienced a medical emergency that almost killed her. Another reminder of the preciousness and fragility of life and friendship. Here’s my 2015 conversation with TRUDY and JACK KORNFIELD on the occasion of an event at Insight LA, the mindfulness mediation center founded by Trudy…

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 77: Mike Armstrong 12:15

7M ago12:15

12:15

Mike Armstrong quickly became a favorite guest on the Big Dumb Show, after this, his first visit on April 11, 2003. This is when we first learned of his previous career in law enforcement, and some of the fun stuff he used to do when he was a cop. And oh yeah, he met “The Rock“.By Gonzo Greg

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Episode 641: ASTRA TAYLOR-Digging into Democracy, Debt, Insecurity and Solidarity 1:02:27

7M ago1:02:27

1:02:27

In 2020, I talked about democracy with filmmaker/writer/organizer/activist, ASTRA TAYLOR. Four years later, following a pandemic, waves of protests, an insurrection, and a couple of ongoing wars, we revisit our fragile and threatened way of political life. She’s been busy - working with the Debt Collective, a union of debtors she co-founded, and wr…

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Episode 640: What would nature do? JANINE BENYUS, BIOMIMICRY: Innovation Inspired by Nature 1:00:57

7M ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Earth Day 2024 is April 22nd. Here’s my 2011 conversation with JANINE BENYUS, who coined a term and invented a field called Biomimicry. After 3.8 billion years of R&D on this planet, failures are fossils. What surrounds us in the natural world has succeeded and survived. So why not learn as much as we can from what works? Nature has already solved …

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Episode 639: The Myths of Poverty & the Role of Luck-MARK RANK-The Random Factor 1:00:00

7M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

Why does our society produce more poverty than other wealthy countries? Why don’t we or why can’t we change our incentives? I speak with MARK RANK, about his books, THE POVERTY PARADOX and POORLY UNDERSTOOD: What America Gets Wrong About Poverty, and his latest, THE RANDOM FACTOR: How Chance & Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives & the World Around Us. …

1
Episode 638: CHARLES EISENSTEIN (2019), Climate - A New Deeper, Fuller Story - People connect more with nature than policy 1:00:00

7M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

I describe the goal of my engagement with what we call the environment as “a healthy relationship with the rest of nature.” In this 2019 conversation, CHARLES EISENSTEIN asks: Have we become too focused on climate change? and reminds us that holding rivers, forests, and creatures as sacred and valuable in their own right, not simply as carbon credi…

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 76: Tammy Pescatelli 23:26

7M ago23:26

23:26

One of our favorite guests, comedian Tammy Pescatelli suffers through Indianapolis traffic, bull sperm news, and guest hosts ‘Sports Talk With The Azz’. Plus questions the coolness of “Stuck In The Night.” From April 2, 2003.By Gonzo Greg

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 75: Kevin Bloody Wilson 6:14

8M ago6:14

6:14

Australian comedian Kevin Bloody Wilson gets roped into visiting the Big Dumb Show, and shares a musical tale of gastrointestinal excitement.By Gonzo Greg

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Episode 637: Can we build immunity to mis- & dis-information? ANDY NORMAN & MELANIE TRECEK-KING of the MENTAL IMMUNITY PROJECT 1:00:00

8M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

With social media and AI, bad actors weaponize information, stressing democracy. We have two options: stop the lies or stop people from believing them. The former is near impossible in a free society, but there’s solid evidence the latter is achievable. I talk with two founders of the Mental Immunity Project, ANDY NORMAN, author of MENTAL IMMUNITY,…

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 74: The $6000 Cheeto 18:10

8M ago18:10

18:10

How much would you pay for a snack treat of unusual size? On the morning of February 26, 2003 The Big Dumb Show was well on our way to being on the hook for north of six grand for a giant Cheeto Ⓡ blob we spotted on eBay. It should be noted that this entire fiasco was Beau‘s idea*. (*Beau maintains that he was, in fact, very much opposed.) Regardle…

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Episode 636: Two for the Campaign Ahead: 1) DREW WESTEN (2007), The Political Brain 2) BERNIE HORN (2009), Framing the Future 59:40

8M ago59:40

59:40

As we fasten our seatbelts and plunge into the 2024 campaign, here are two conversations worth a re-listen. From 2007, I talk with DREW WESTEN about the ideas and advice in his influential book, THE POLITICAL BRAIN: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. Westen: Democrats almost always present the best arguments but lose elections …

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 73: Harland Williams 12:55

8M ago12:55

12:55

Actor/Comedian Harland Williams visited the Big Dumb Show a number of times. In this visit from August 5, 2004 he has thoughts on Gonzo‘s latest hairstyle, what goes in Don Stuck‘s mouth at night, and robots.By Gonzo Greg

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Episode 635: ROB JOHNSON & I talk about the State of the Union - Biden’s speech plus our own take on things 1:00:00

8M ago1:00:00

1:00:00

ROB JOHNSON is a plain-speaking and passionate critic of an economic, financial, and political system that leaves too many behind. He and I do post-election shows - and we’ll do another this November, but this week we talk about the State of the Union as well as the state of the union. We talk about Biden’s speech and about how the two of us see th…

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Gonzo Greg Big Dumb Show Flashback 72: Drew Hastings 7:42

8M ago7:42

7:42

Comedian Drew Hastings visits for an update on his backwoods, hermit lifestyle and shares some keen insight into where most men go wrong when entering relationships. And other stuff, from July 14, 2004.By Gonzo Greg

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Episode 634: TIM DeCHRISTOPHER-Courage & Conviction-Tim served 21 months in prison for civil disobedience protecting public lands 57:44

8M ago57:44

57:44

We know Republicans exercise minority rule in the states, the House, and the Supreme Court. Now Biden is arming Israel without meaningful or effective demands for humanitarian treatment of innocent civilians. Is it time for civil disobedience? Here’s my 2013 conversation with Tim DeChristopher. In a disputed auction of oil leases on pubic lands, Ti…

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Big Dumb Show Flashback 71: AJ Jamal 9:07

9M ago9:07

9:07

Comedian AJ Jamal shares why he became vegan early in life, some aspects of his relationship with his wife, as well as his parents’ unique interactions. Originally aired July 2, 2004.By Gonzo Greg

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Episode 633: ANGUS DEATON, co-author, Deaths of Despair - ECONOMICS IN AMERICA: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality 1:01:09

9M ago1:01:09

1:01:09

ANGUS DEATON won the Nobel prize in Economics for work accomplished before he and his wife, economist Ann Case, wrote DEATHS OF DESPAIR and the Future of Capitalism. Pre pandemic, life expectancy in the US was no longer rising, and already falling among adults without 4 years of college, due in large part to alcoholism, drug overdoses, and suicides…

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Big Dumb Show Flashback 70: Rob Little 9:29

9M ago9:29

9:29

Comedian Rob Little comes in and matches the early morning manic energy of the Big Dumb Show. He shoots the sh!t about being a Detroiter living in California, boogie boarding, and karaoke with adult film stars. And about a million other things inside of about 10 minutes. This is from August 17, 2004.…

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