A Story Told

In this week’s show, Michael honors the opening of the 2026 Shanghaied in Astoria theater season by reading a script he (as one of the actors in the theater troupe) used to perform years ago to open the show. And he remembers Bloody Thursday,  the anniversary on July 5, of the violent 1934 West Coast...

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker commemorates the nation’s upcoming birthday with a look at the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker commemorates the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, and shares some recollections of his days as a US Marine in Vietnam.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares a biting satirical piece he once wrote for his now out-of-print newspaper, the North Coast Times Eagle. It’s about the life and times of the infamous, and now deceased, former US Senator from Oregon, Bob Packwood.

Among the offerings this week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares some local history: the story of how Greenpeace demonstrators temporarily stopped the progress of a US Navy ship coming to Portland for the 1990 Rose Festival to protest nuclear weapons.

This week on a Story Told, Michael McCusker shares a fictional essay he once wrote for his newspaper, the North Coast Times Eagle, about an imaginary conversation between music legend Curt Cobain and a Vietnam vet, on the subject of suicide.   Michael also shares a piece about the arrival of a US Navy ship...

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker talks about the denial of the realities of war that is inherent in American culture.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay written by his now-deceased friend Arthur Honeyman. The piece commemorates a May 11, 1970, protest in Portland referred to as Bloody Monday. On that day, Portland Police clashed with demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War on the Portland State University campus.  

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker honors a singular individual and an old friend who is now deceased.    His friend was a man named Arthur Honeyman, possessed with a sharp and eloquent intellect, but who suffered all his life from the ravages of cerebral palsy. Michael talks about Arthur, shares some of his poetry,...

Social and political commentary from local journalist, activist and Vietnam veteran Michael McCusker.

Michael reads a couple of pieces from recently deceased satirist Michael Graham and ends with some tea bag counciling.

Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote about the role of media in an increasingly autocratic society.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker reads an essay he published years ago in his newspaper, the North Coast Times-Eagle, about the history and evolution of the city of Astoria.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote titled, “One World for All.”

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote about PNW trees and the timber industry, and shares a political essay written by now deceased Peninsula resident DR. Robert Brake.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay on women’s rights, honoring Women’s History Month.

Michael McCusker commemorates the anniversary this month of the infamous My Lai Massacre, a war crime committed by US Army personnel – the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam – which happened on March 16, 1968. 

Michael McCusker on the latest in the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. 

Michael McCusker on “One World For All”

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker reads an essay in honor of Oregon’s birthday last week, on Valentine’s Day.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker details the hideous history of US slavery.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker discusses tyranny and the concept of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Michael McCusker discusses the possible legacy of humanity, sharing an essay he wrote.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares the works of poet Langston Hughes, whose words take on renewed meaning in our current political climate. 

Michael McCusker honors the 100th anniversary of public radio.