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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

6:49

68: Dallas the Dog Welcomes Skittish Sparrows. Jeremy...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

Dallas the Dog Welcomes Skittish Sparrows. Jeremy details Dallas's affinity for birds, noting that usually skittish common garden sparrows are now drinking and eating from the dog's bowls. The destructive cockatoos, while still present and stripping pine trees, have thankfully avoided attacking the damaged roof. Crows remain cautious, staying distant to avoid aerial "dogfights" with the aggressive magpies.PURPLR FINCH

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3:54

68: Ashes Cricket: Injury Risks and Unknown...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

Ashes Cricket: Injury Risks and Unknown Opponents. Jeremy Zakis discusses the upcoming Ashes contest, noting both Australia and England are good teams with unknowns. Australia aims to match England's power but faces risks from older, injury-prone players, including captain Pat Cummins. The series outcome depends heavily on the English team's strategy (fast, slow, power, or spinning). 1898

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10:57

68: Snakes in Pools and Magpie Attacks on Cyclists....

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

Snakes in Pools and Magpie Attacks on Cyclists. Jeremy discusses the prevalence of snakes, noting that it is illegal to kill them, and they are frequently attracted to swimming pools, seeking water and warmth in filters or motors. He warns that even libraries are not safe from brown snakes. He also highlights an experiment examining why magpies aggressively attack cyclists more than other people. Retry

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8:16

68: Australian Weather: Four Seasons in a Week....

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

Australian Weather: Four Seasons in a Week. Jeremy describes Australia's weather as an "eclectic cacophony," experiencing four seasons in one week, including 80°F days and brutally cold winter-like maximums. Severe storms and reported nighttime funnels hit Queensland. The rapid growth of foliage due to this erratic weather is a dangerous omen, potentially creating extra fuel for future summer fires. SPRINGER SPANIELS

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11:08

67: 4. When Politicians Panicked: The New...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

4. When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason. The discussion critiques the indiscriminate government funding of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), which subsidized well-endowed institutions and missed future innovators, thereby slowing the natural process of working out what is "good and what's bad." Government lending programs inevitably come with strings attached and impair credit. John Tamny suggests that individuals possess a protected

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10:09

67: 3. When Politicians Panicked: The New...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

3. When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason. This excerpt examines the federal government's response, characterized as a partial command economy imposed after state lockdowns. John Tamny contends that Washington threw trillions of dollars at the collapse it subsidized, delaying recovery. He refutes the premise that cash handouts stimulate growth, stressing that economic dynamism comes from investment, not consumption. Attempts by commentators to

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7:51

67: 2. When Politicians Panicked: The New...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

2. When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason. The conversation reviews the governors' initial promise of two-week lockdowns, noting that centralized power is rarely relinquished. The economic crisis deepened as epidemiologists and experts supplanted the collective knowledge of the marketplace, resulting in central planning, mass unemployment, and debt. John Tamny contrasts the COVID-19 response with the 1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic, which caused the

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10:40

67: 1. When Politicians Panicked: The New...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/09

1. When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason. John Tamny discusses the severe economic contraction initiated by mandated lockdowns, such as Governor Cuomo's March 20, 2020, order in New York. Tamny argues that politicians caused the crisis by forcing successful businesses to cease operations. These sudden actions by major economies forced global investors to fundamentally rethink the future value of businesses. Although early market signals from

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9:46

66: 8. The Trans Earth Injection, Lovell's Navigation...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

8. The Trans Earth Injection, Lovell's Navigation Error, and the Successful Reentry. Bob Zimmerman discusses how the Trans Earth Injection (TEI) was the mission's second moment of highest risk, requiring the non-redundant SPS engine to fire on the backside of the moon to propel them back to Earth. Susan Borman had been most anxious about this burn, knowing failure meant certain death in lunar orbit. When they reacquired signal, Jim Lovell famously declared, "I want to report that there is a Santa

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9:53

65: 7. The Iconic Earthrise Photo and the Genesis...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

7. The Iconic Earthrise Photo and the Genesis Reading Broadcast. Bob Zimmerman discusses how while orbiting the moon, the crew captured the now-iconic "Earthrise" photographs. A dispute over who took the famous color picture was resolved by transcript analysis: Frank Borman quickly took a black-and-white image, and Bill Anders subsequently captured the celebrated color image after scrambling to change the film. For their Christmas Eve television broadcast, Frank Borman sought guidance for a message

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8:02

65: 6. The Cold War Context and the Tragedy of a...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

6. The Cold War Context and the Tragedy of a Government-Controlled Space Program. Bob Zimmerman discusses how the Apollo 8 mission was embedded in the global Cold War and the extreme chaos of 1968, marked by political turmoil and assassinations. The space race was intended as a demonstration that America, as a free society, could achieve great things better than the Soviet top-down system. While the astronauts were military veterans, the author disputes the notion that NASA was a military

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9:33

65: 5. Lunar Orbit Insertion and the Disappointment...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

5. Lunar Orbit Insertion and the Disappointment of the Moon's Surface. Bob Zimmerman discusses how on Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 approached the moon. The critical moment was Lunar Orbit Injection (LOI), requiring the firing of the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine. This burn had to occur while the craft was behind the moon, resulting in a dramatic Loss of Signal (LOS) for Earth. Susan Borman particularly dreaded this moment because the SPS engine, which had no redundancy, was their only way into

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9:27

65: 4. The Failure of the Soviet Zond Program and the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

4. The Failure of the Soviet Zond Program and the Decision to Gamble on Apollo 8. Bob Zimmerman discusses the fierce moon race with the Soviet Union's Roscosmos, which utilized the Zond capsule for circumlunar missions. Zond 5 and 6, launched in late 1968, suffered critical failures (guidance system and atmosphere loss, respectively), forcing the Soviets to cancel their planned manned December flight. Watching this, NASA manager George Low realized the Lunar Module (LM) for Apollo 8 was behind

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7:30

65: 3. Launch Mechanics, Primitive Technology, and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

3. Launch Mechanics, Primitive Technology, and Trans Lunar Injection. Bob Zimmerman discusses how Apollo 8 launched on December 21, 1968, the first day of its window, following a smooth ride on the powerful Saturn 5 rocket. Engineers had mitigated the "pogo" vibration effects that plagued earlier test flights. After one Earth orbit to verify systems, they performed the Trans Lunar Injection (TLI), firing the upper stage Saturn engines to accelerate toward the moon. This moment marked the first time

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12:10

65: 2. The Apollo 8 Crew, Cold War Context, and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

2. The Apollo 8 Crew, Cold War Context, and Reliance on the Saturn 5 Booster. Bob Zimmerman introduces the Apollo 8 crew—Commander Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and rookie William Anders—set against the backdrop of the intense global Cold War in late 1968. Borman was selected for his honesty and dedication to duty, ensuring the mission's success after his role in investigating the Apollo 1 tragedy. Lovell was known as a "space cadet" eager to explore, and he and Borman had proven human endurance in

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7:55

65: 1. Apollo 1 and Soyuz 1 Disasters: Rushing the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

1. Apollo 1 and Soyuz 1 Disasters: Rushing the Space Race. Bob Zimmerman discusses the major setbacks suffered by both nations in 1967. In January, the Apollo 1 fire occurred during a launchpad rehearsal, killing astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee. The cause was carelessness: a spark ignited flammable materials in the pure oxygen atmosphere, trapping the crew because the hatch could only be opened externally. Frank Borman led the honest investigation, which resulted in major safety fixes,

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5:53

65: 4. Post-Apollo Budget Cuts and the Rise of...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

4. Post-Apollo Budget Cuts and the Rise of Robotic Mars Exploration. Matthew Shindell discusses how following the success of Apollo, NASA proposed extending the human space program to Mars. However, President Nixon, recognizing shifting political priorities, chose to divert funding toward domestic issues like civil rights and poverty. As a result, NASA's post-Apollo budget levels dropped significantly, forcing space exploration to compete with other national needs. This led to the expansion of

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14:05

65: 3. From Newtonian Physics to Canals: Projecting...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

3. From Newtonian Physics to Canals: Projecting Life onto Mars. Matthew Shindell discusses how the shift from ancient cosmology to modern science was a slow process, with figures like Galileo and Newton developing new observations and physics. Enlightenment thinkers, including Buffon and Laplace, began searching for a natural (rather than divine) origin for the solar system, establishing that the planets are related and obey universal laws. This led to speculation about life elsewhere. Astronomer

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4:33

65: 2. The Islamic World's Scientific Contributions...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

2. The Islamic World's Scientific Contributions and Mars in Medieval Thought. Matthew Shindell highlights an intellectual renaissance in the Islamic world—specifically Baghdad and Damascus—between the 10th and 16th centuries, which was vital while Europe was experiencing its "Dark Ages." Through translation and original work, Islamic scholars built upon ancient knowledge, fueling a great intellectual transformation. In the medieval period, Mars was widely associated with vices like war, violence,

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9:46

65: 2. The Islamic World's Scientific Contributions...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/08

2. The Islamic World's Scientific Contributions and Mars in Medieval Thought. Matthew Shindell highlights an intellectual renaissance in the Islamic world—specifically Baghdad and Damascus—between the 10th and 16th centuries, which was vital while Europe was experiencing its "Dark Ages." Through translation and original work, Islamic scholars built upon ancient knowledge, fueling a great intellectual transformation. In the medieval period, Mars was widely associated with vices like war, violence,

en-us

9,022 results

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