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PODCAST

The John Batchelor Show

The John Batchelor Show is a hard news-analysis radio program on current events, world history, global politics and natural sciences. Based in New York City for two decades, the show has travelled widely to report, from the Middle East to the South Caucasus to the Arabian Peninsula and East Asia.

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All Episodes

9:26

44: Benjamin Franklin: Bravery, Deism, and the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/02

Benjamin Franklin: Bravery, Deism, and the Youthful Pursuit of Independence. Richard Munson's biography emphasizes the complexity and bravery of Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706. A key event occurred in 1762 when Governor John Penn rushed to Franklin's home, needing his help to stop the homicidal Paxton Boys mob, who had massacred Native Americans and were marching on Philadelphia. Franklin, then 56, responded with great bravery and rode out to face down the mob, succeeding in talking them down

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7:54

44: The Somers Trial: Mackenzie's Defense, Dana's...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/02

The Somers Trial: Mackenzie's Defense, Dana's Support, and the Presidential Intervention. Richard Snow discusses how after the execution, the Navy initiated an inquiry. Richard Henry Dana fully supported Mackenzie, describing him as saintly and honorable. The court of inquiry agreed that Mackenzie had behaved honorably. However, Mackenzie surprisingly sought a formal court-martial because John Spencer and Seaman Small's wife were pressuring for a civil murder trial. The court-martial ran from

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11:45

44: The Fateful Secret: Mackenzie's Panic and the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/02

The Fateful Secret: Mackenzie's Panic and the Wardroom's Verdict of Death. Richard Snow discusses how the crisis began on Friday, November 24, 1842, when Philip Spencer detailed his plot to crew member Wales, claiming to have recruited at least 20 people to turn the Somers into a pirate ship. Wales reported the plot to First Lieutenant Gansevoort, who reported to Captain Mackenzie. Mackenzie initially dismissed the claim but quickly became convinced and panicky, ordering Gansevoort to spy on

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3:59

44: The Overgunned School Ship: Conditions Aboard the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/02

The Overgunned School Ship: Conditions Aboard the USS Somers. Richard Snow discusses how the USS Somers, a beautiful and fast ship, was small—only 100 feet long—and overgunned with ten 32-pounders. The crew consisted of 120 people, with only about 30 mature sailors and the remaining majority being midshipmen meant to learn basic seamanship. The vessel was very crowded. Midshipman Philip Spencer was isolated from other midshipmen and began consorting with the common crew, which was highly

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13:50

44: The USS Somers: Midshipman Philip Spencer's...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/02

The USS Somers: Midshipman Philip Spencer's Pirate Obsession and Captain Mackenzie's Taste for Violence.Richard Snow's book, Sailing the Graveyard Sea, recounts the 1842 voyage of the USS Somers, the US Navy's only mutiny. The mutiny centered on Midshipman Philip Spencer, born in 1824, son of prominent lawyer John Spencer. Philip was a difficult, unruly dreamer who withdrew into pirate stories, donating the massive The Pirate's Own Book to his school library. His father secured Philip a naval

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7:10

44: Geoengineering and Sustainable Growth:...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Geoengineering and Sustainable Growth: Technological Pathways to Climate Restoration. Gaia Vince discusses technological methods for restoring the planet, including ocean fertilization, which involves artificially adding iron to boost algae growth that would suck out carbon dioxide. Another technique is enhanced weathering, sprinkling rocks like olivines onto agricultural fields or beaches; these rocks naturally bind with atmospheric carbon dioxide, locking the carbon away. Further options include

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13:30

44: Orchestrating the Nomad Century: Quotas, New...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Orchestrating the Nomad Century: Quotas, New Cities, and the Food Production Revolution. Gaia Vince encourages a proactive vision for managing massive climate-driven migration, involving facing expected heat, enlarging northern cities, and building entirely new ones. Vince provides an optimistic example of a managed migration where a farmer in Gujarat, India, applies for migration and is assigned to Aberdeen, Scotland. She suggests establishing a new United Nations agency with "real teeth" to

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6:14

44: The Demographic Need: Reframing Migration as an...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

The Demographic Need: Reframing Migration as an Economic Resource and Dismantling Exclusionary Borders.Gaia Vince discusses how humans are a migratory species that evolved in Africa and colonized the entire globe through movement. Historically, the US and European nations have used policies of brutality and cruelty to restrict movement, with many current border restrictions being recent. Vince highlights the current economic paradox: societies encourage the flow of goods but limit human labor,

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9:20

44: Climate Migration Is Inevitable: The Global...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Climate Migration Is Inevitable: The Global South, the Four Horsemen, and the Necessity of Movement. Gaia Vince's book, Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World, examines the statistics warning that the climate of the near future will be dramatically different. Vince emphasizes that climate migration is "very much underway" and inevitable, highlighting the plight of Abel Cruz, a farmer in rural Peru who moved to Lima due to drought but became part of the growing global south

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8:15

44: Cutting Off the CCP: Deterrence Through Nuclear...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Cutting Off the CCP: Deterrence Through Nuclear Proliferation and Total Economic Isolation. Jim Fanell and Brad Thayer discuss critical, urgent actions required to counter the PRC's strategic forces threat. Given the severe strategic mismatch, Fanell argues that warfighting proliferation must be considered, suggesting nuclear capabilities and proliferation in Seoul, Tokyo, and even Taiwan to change the calculus in Beijing and Washington. Thayer emphasizes that the current downturn in the PRC's

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11:25

44: The Urgency of Admitting Failure: Team B, CFIUS...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

The Urgency of Admitting Failure: Team B, CFIUS Reform, and Confronting Communist Ideology. Jim Fanell and Brad Thayer emphasize that the initial step toward addressing the crisis requires the US system to admit strategic failure. Fanell notes this is extremely difficult due to institutional bias, stressing that admitting a problem is necessary to receive treatment. The comprehensive threat from Communist China necessitates a "whole-of-government, whole-of-society" approach requiring US leadership

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8:15

44: Echoes of 1919: How Underestimating the PLA After...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Echoes of 1919: How Underestimating the PLA After Tiananmen Created a Strategic Failure. Jim Fanell and Brad Thayer connect the current geopolitical threat posed by the PLA Navy to past strategic failures, drawing an analogy to the British Empire's "10-year rule" instituted in 1919. The US made a similar miscalculation regarding China after the brutal Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, as the US Navy and Pacific Command did not perceive any threat from the PRC. Fanell, who worked at the US Joint

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9:35

44: Joint Sword 2024: China's Anaconda Strategy...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Joint Sword 2024: China's Anaconda Strategy Against Taiwan and Washington's Persistence in Failed Engagement. Captain James Fanell and Bradley Thayer assert that America must urgently reverse its strategic errors regarding China. Fanell notes that China is currently demonstrating aggression toward Taiwan, announcing two days of "Joint Sword 2024 Alpha" exercises conducted very close to Taiwan, inside the contiguous zone. China is using the recent inauguration speech of Taiwan's new President Lai as

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6:01

43: SHOW 10-31-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

SHOW10-31-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT NUKES, FIRST HOUR 9-915 Vegas Pricing, California Politics, and Fire Negligence Guest: Jeff Bliss Jeff Bliss reports on Las Vegas, where MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle admitted that high pricing strategies—including $12 coffee and $26 bottled water—were driving tourists away and causing massive revenue losses. In California, the $1.5 billion state capital refurbishment project was shrouded in secrecy, with

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6:45

42: Space Race and Private Industry Guest: Bob...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Space Race and Private Industry Guest: Bob Zimmerman Bob Zimmerman discusses how SpaceX's privately funded Starship program is positioned to beat NASA, China, and Russia in establishing a lunar base, operating independently of the struggling Artemis program. China and Blue Origin are deemed significantly behind in their lunar efforts. Zimmerman also covers other segments including A Space Mobile competing with Starlink, semiconductor manufacturing in space, the X59 project becoming obsolete due to

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12:55

42: Space Race and Private Industry Guest: Bob...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Space Race and Private Industry Guest: Bob Zimmerman Bob Zimmerman discusses how SpaceX's privately funded Starship program is positioned to beat NASA, China, and Russia in establishing a lunar base, operating independently of the struggling Artemis program. China and Blue Origin are deemed significantly behind in their lunar efforts. Zimmerman also covers other segments including A Space Mobile competing with Starlink, semiconductor manufacturing in space, the X59 project becoming obsolete due to

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4:55

42: Nuclear Testing and Proliferation Concerns Guest:...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Nuclear Testing and Proliferation Concerns Guest: Henry Sokolski Henry Sokolski discusses President Trump's comments on resuming nuclear testing, suggesting Trump may favor a full yield test, last conducted in 1992, over current subcritical testing protocols. The United States maintains a formal moratorium on explosive nuclear testing. Sokolski also addresses proliferation risks associated with the United States potentially helping South Korea build nuclear-powered submarines and enabling South

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12:54

42: Nuclear Testing and Proliferation Concerns Guest:...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Nuclear Testing and Proliferation Concerns Guest: Henry Sokolski Henry Sokolski discusses President Trump's comments on resuming nuclear testing, suggesting Trump may favor a full yield test, last conducted in 1992, over current subcritical testing protocols. The United States maintains a formal moratorium on explosive nuclear testing. Sokolski also addresses proliferation risks associated with the United States potentially helping South Korea build nuclear-powered submarines and enabling South

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5:50

42: Augustine the African: Life, Conversion, and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Augustine the African: Life, Conversion, and Conflict Guest: Professor Catherine Conybeare Professor Catherine Conybeare discusses Augustine the African, born in Tagaste in North Africa, who spoke Latin but was not fluent in Punic. Augustine moved to Milan, where his Christian mother, Monica, orchestrated an advantageous marriage, forcing him to cruelly separate from his partner of fourteen years and their son. After converting to Christianity and returning to Africa, he was forcibly ordained in

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13:50

42: Augustine the African: Life, Conversion, and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/01

Augustine the African: Life, Conversion, and Conflict Guest: Professor Catherine Conybeare Professor Catherine Conybeare discusses Augustine the African, born in Tagaste in North Africa, who spoke Latin but was not fluent in Punic. Augustine moved to Milan, where his Christian mother, Monica, orchestrated an advantageous marriage, forcing him to cruelly separate from his partner of fourteen years and their son. After converting to Christianity and returning to Africa, he was forcibly ordained in

en-us

9,089 results

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