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PODCAST

The John Batchelor Show

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.

news & politics history

All Episodes

8:03

S8 Ep147: Wildlife Intelligence: Magpie Alliances and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

Wildlife Intelligence: Magpie Alliances and Cockatoo Defense — Jeremy Zakis — Zakis discussed his dog Dallas, who has become a skilled magpie whisperer, having cultivated alliances with five distinct magpie families throughout the neighborhood. Dallas demonstrates affection and respect toward the birds through deliberate head-bowing behavior, effectively communicating non-threatening intent. Dallas also actively protects the property from destructive Australiancockatoos seeking food and nesting

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11:19

S8 Ep148: First Ashes Test in Perth: Lopsided Victory...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

First Ashes Test in Perth: Lopsided Victory and Food Surplus — Jeremy Zakis — Zakis detailed the first Ashes test match in Perth, which concluded rapidly due to Australia's dominant performance, resulting in a severely lopsided victory over England. The unexpectedly brief match duration created massive oversupply of prepared catering and concession food, which event organizers successfully redirected to Osh Harvest charity for community distribution. Zakis noted significant weaknesses in both

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8:35

S8 Ep147: Alarming Urban Home Invasion: Venomous...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

Alarming Urban Home Invasion: Venomous Brown Snake in Canberra — Jeremy Zakis — Zakis reported on a concerning home invasion in Canberra involving a highly venomous great eastern brown snake, one of Australia'sdeadliest species. The family discovered the dangerous reptile in their residential hallway; the snake subsequently relocated to the toilet bowl, effectively trapping itself and facilitating safe capture. Experts characterized this unusual urban behavior as potentially symptomatic of snakes

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11:19

S8 Ep147: Bureau of Meteorology Website Renovation...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

Bureau of Meteorology Website Renovation Fails — Jeremy Zakis — Zakis reported on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), which failed to accurately predict the La Niña weather cycle and subsequent rainfall patterns. A $96.5 million website renovation project resulted in a broken, non-intuitive digital platform that systematically downplayed rainfall severity in visual representations. The project's exorbitant cost, attributed partly to expensive consulting fees and extensive testing protocols,

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8:45

S8 Ep146: 8/8 Trauma, Memory, and the Silence of...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

8/8 Trauma, Memory, and the Silence of "Eating Bitterness" — Tanya Branigan — Branigan characterizes the CRas a collective convulsion or "Maoist hysteria." Mental health infrastructure was historically underdeveloped in China, and psychology was officially condemned as "bourgeois pseudoscience." The pervasive cultural idiom "eating bitterness" reflects fatalistic endurance of suffering without complaint. Severe trauma fractured survivors' memory systems, producing lasting psychiatric consequences

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10:55

S8 Ep146: 7/8 The Unfilial Son and the Trauma of...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

7/8 The Unfilial Son and the Trauma of Informing — Tanya Branigan — This segment recounts the 1970 execution of Fu Zhong Mo, a devoted Communist Party member who was denounced following her criticism of Mao. Her seventeen-year-old son, Jiang Hong Bing, informed state authorities against his mother, subordinating filial obligation to worship of Mao Zedong. Fu was publicly executed, and her corpse was subsequently moved multiple times by authorities. Jiang lives with severe guilt, characterizing

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8:20

S8 Ep146: 6/8 Impersonators, Nostalgia, and the Fall...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

6/8 Impersonators, Nostalgia, and the Fall of Lin Biao — Tanya Branigan — CR nostalgia manifests in organized commemorative groups and the remarkable phenomenon of Lin Biao impersonators. Lin Biao, once Mao's designated successor and principal architect of the personality cult, was subsequently vilified following his mysterious plane crash and disappearance. His dramatic downfall fractured revolutionary faith among many Chinese. Former educated youth, who endured severe conditions during rural

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9:30

S8 Ep146: 5/8 Princelings, Purges, and the Politics...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

5/8 Princelings, Purges, and the Politics of Red Nostalgia — Tanya Branigan — Princelings Bo Xilai and Xi Jinping, both children of senior Communist leadership, were themselves CR victims, experiencing persecution and hardship. Bo Xilai, known for his conspicuous personal style, strategically exploited CR nostalgia by promoting "red songs" celebrating the revolutionary era. Xi Jinping, though more rhetorically restrained, similarly adopted ideological and sentimental appeals to revolutionary memory

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7:15

S8 Ep146: 4/8 Persecution and Survival: The Composer...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

4/8 Persecution and Survival: The Composer Wang Xilin's Memory — Tanya Branigan — The biography of composer Wang Xilin, a zealous Communist Party member and peasant-background intellectual, illustrates the regime's betrayal of its devoted followers. Wang endured systematic persecution including multiple struggle sessions, during which he anticipated execution. Branigan documents that remembering this trauma remains acutely painful; Wangcompared his suffering to Holocaust experiences at Auschwitz

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12:25

S8 Ep146: 3/8 Red August and the Idealism of Teenage...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

3/8 Red August and the Idealism of Teenage Red Guards — Tanya Branigan — Yu Zhangzhen, who became a Red Guard at age thirteen, recalls "Red August" 1966, when Mao Zedong summoned millions of young people to massive rallies, explicitly endorsing the movement and exhorting them to destroy the "four olds." Despite witnessing horrific violence, including corpse-filled athletic fields, Yu maintained genuine ideological commitment to the revolutionary cause. For many participants, the CR represented a

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8:50

S8 Ep146: 2/8 Witnessing the First Red Guard Murder...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

2/8 Witnessing the First Red Guard Murder and the Contested Apologies — Tanya Branigan — This segment examines the 1966 murder of educator Bian Zhongyun by teenage Red Guards at a prestigious girls' secondary school. Her husband, Wang Jingyao, clandestinely preserved physical evidence including bloodstained clothing and photographic documentation of her body, ensuring the atrocity would not be forgotten and pursuing potential justice. Branigan argues that memory itself constitutes an act of

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9:00

S8 Ep146: 1/8 The Vanishing Museum of the Cultural...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

1/8 The Vanishing Museum of the Cultural Revolution — Tanya Branigan — Branigan's book Red Memory opens with the Pagoda Museum in Shantou, the sole institutional site documenting Cultural Revolution history and memory. Built by official Peng Qi'an to preserve this era, the museum unflinchingly documents the period's widespread violence, social chaos, and estimated two million deaths. Official Chinese historiography minimizes the CR as merely "setbacks" and historical aberrations. The museum site,

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4:55

S8 Ep145: 8/8. Roosevelt's Landslide and the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

8/8. Roosevelt's Landslide and the Realignment of American Politics — David Pietrusza — Contrary to the Literary Digest straw poll prediction of a close race, early returns confirmed Roosevelt's enormous landslide victory, securing 46 states and overwhelming electoral dominance. The victory produced 74 Democratic senators and 334 Democratic house members, establishing commanding majorities in both chambers. This comprehensive electoral sweep cemented the realignment of American politics, as

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15:45

S8 Ep145: 7/8. The Campaign: Eleanor's Star Rises as...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

7/8. The Campaign: Eleanor's Star Rises as FDR Welcomes Hatred — David Pietrusza — Alf Landon conducted a weak campaign that deteriorated sharply after attacking Social Security, alienating key voter constituencies. Eleanor Roosevelt, initially regarded as a political liability, emerged as a major campaign asset and political star, campaigning intensely for the critical African-American electorate. FDR delivered a powerful class warfare address at Madison Square Garden, dramatically declaring he

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9:20

S8 Ep145: 6/8. Alf Landon, the Unremarkable...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

6/8. Alf Landon, the Unremarkable Candidate, Nominated by Republicans — David Pietrusza — Republicansdeliberately rejected Herbert Hoover, instead considering mavericks like William Borah and mainstream figures like Arthur Vandenberg before ultimately nominating Alf Landon, the progressive Governor of Kansas, who had won his initial term through fortuitous electoral circumstances. Landon, derisively known as the "Kansas Coolidge" for his lackluster personality, was strongly championed by William

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9:30

S8 Ep145: 5/8. William Randolph Hearst Breaks with...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

5/8. William Randolph Hearst Breaks with Roosevelt over Tax Policy — David Pietrusza — Newspaper and radio magnate William Randolph Hearst, who initially opposed FDR in 1932, became progressively disaffected as Rooseveltmoved leftward and proposed substantial tax increases on wealthy Americans. FDR explicitly discussed the political utility of throwing wealthy opponents, particularly Hearst, "to the wolves" as a populist rallying point. Hearst, who had met with Hitler in 1934, remained a formidable

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6:55

S8 Ep145: 4/8. FDR Deals with the Socialist and...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

4/8. FDR Deals with the Socialist and Communist Parties — David Pietrusza — Roosevelt expressed concern that the Socialist Party (led by Norman Thomas) and the Communist Party (led by Earl Browder) would siphon votes from the Democratic ticket. Due to Stalin's strategic pivot toward the Popular Front strategy opposing Hitler, the CPUSA, directed by Browder, tacitly supported Roosevelt by concentrating opposition fire on the Republican nominee. The Communists aligned strategically with radical

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13:45

S8 Ep145: 3/8. Social Security is Driven by the...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

3/8. Social Security is Driven by the Townsend Plan and the Rise of Father Coughlin — David Pietrusza — Dr. Francis Townsend's proposal to provide $200 monthly to citizens over age 60 compelled a reluctant FDR to rapidly introduce the Social Security legislation. Townsend subsequently aligned with the influential radio priest Father Charles Coughlin and Reverend Gerald L.K. Smith to establish a third-party challenge. Coughlin, having turned bitterly against FDR, met with him at Hyde Park the morning

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7:35

S8 Ep145: 2/8. The Populist Challenge: Huey Long's...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

2/8. The Populist Challenge: Huey Long's Legacy and Eugene Talmadge — David Pietrusza — Roosevelt faced formidable challenges from both the populist left and the conservative South. Although Huey Long (representing the radical Share Our Wealth program) was assassinated in 1935, his political strategy envisioned electing Republicans in 1936 to pave the path for his own presidential bid in 1940. FDR also contended with Eugene Talmadge, a Georgianconservative populist who employed race-baiting rhetoric

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11:15

S8 Ep145: 1/8. FDR's 1936 Campaign Begins Amid Loss...

The John Batchelor Show ·

2025/11/30

1/8. FDR's 1936 Campaign Begins Amid Loss and Opposition from the Right — David Pietrusza — Pietrusza'sbook Roosevelt Sweeps Nation details the opening phase of FDR's 1936 reelection campaign, commencing with the April death of Franklin D. Roosevelt's principal political advisor, Louis Howe, a devastating personal and strategic loss. Roosevelt immediately confronted sharp opposition from the political right, spearheaded by his former mentor Al Smith, who aligned with the wealthy American Liberty

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5,146 results

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