Bar Crawl Radio

Kumara is a uniquely global trio of musicians who create a synthesis of sound that is unique and beautifully inspiring across and within cultures and communities. I spoke with Samite who plays African Harps and the Kalimba and Shem Guibbory, a classical violinist the day before the WSCG concert. Guitarist Sean Harkness couldn’t make it; he was in a recording studio. This program presents the...

It was another post COVID, pre climate catastrophe Sunday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Rebecca McKean and I – Alan Winson – co-hosts of BCR podcast – had erected our sound studio in the southwest corner of the West Side Community Garden and waited for our guests. Stop the Chop has worked to rid our city of those pesky, rotor-whirling metal blobs that spew noise and GHG pollution for n...

This BCR conversation talks about suicide in the U.S military.  A growing statistic: Women and men who had dedicated their lives and minds to the most destructive military ever – are killing themselves at increasing rates.  I spoke with Angus Benfield – an Australian actor – now working in the U,S, -- about his newest feature film – "The Keeper" which he stars in, produced, and co-direct...

An unedited recording of Karou Watanabe's performance at the West Side Community Garden's 2024 Summer Concert Series -- May 19th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kaoru Watanabe was the featured music artist of the first summer concert in the West Side Community of 2024. Rebecca and I got to the Garden early and set up our portable studio in a corner alcove to talk with Jody Sperling -- dancer and choreographer -- and the Artistic Director of  Time Lapse Dance which explores environmental performance forms. Also, Jody is the Eco-Artist in Residence at...

This is the first "Park Bench Chat" of the 2024 Summer Season – a production of Bar Crawl Radio. During the warming days of spring and summer, Rebecca and I sit at our favorite park bench in the “You’ve Got Mail” garden in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side and talk with our neighbors. Today’s topic--“grammar.” Ellen Jovin is a self-proclaimed “grammar nerd.” She has degrees from...

The majestic trees in front of Goddard Riverside on the Upper West Side of Manhattan were blushing brightly as the community gathered to learn about and spruce up the beds of our leafy neighbors for the seventh annual “Love Your Street Tree Day” – May 7th 2024.  Rebecca and I learned a lot about our urban forest and how to take care of our barked friends – not our barking friends. W...

PHILIPPE DIAZ is a film director – producer – and promoter of “intelligent films.” Born in Paris France, he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. Since 1980 he has produced and distributed international films by auteur directors for world audiences.    Diaz has directed both documentary and feature narrative films on political, economic and social issues.   In 2003, Diaz and...

Rebecca McKean and I walked during Easter week 2024 in the desert north of Las Vegas to the Nevada Nuclear Bomb Test Site– with a community of people who know about the imminent danger of a targeted and ready-to-go American nuclear arsenal.  This BCR podcast will not counter the insanity of the deterrence argument – rather here are a few of the people who walked to the white line at the entra...

This is a must listen conversation with Gabor Rona -- Law Professor at Cardozo Law School – and in the past served as the International Legal Director of Human Rights First.    For over 20 years our government has imprisoned 100s of innocent Muslim men in the Guantanamo Prison and tortured them repeatedly for no good reason – and now cannot try them because they were tortured and ca...

“We Are Guantanamo” – in other words – you and I -- all of us identifying as "American" are complicit – and insofar as the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp remains an active US military and illegal entity – it belongs to us. Since 2002, the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp has held 779 Muslim men accused of attacking the US on September 11 2001. Nearly all were innocent. 740 have been transferred somepl...

For this BCR program, we talked about that age-old American tradition – book burning – or more precisely – thought control.  Our guests were two brave librarians – practicing a profession that is at the core of any effective democracy. Emily Drabinski heads-up the American Library Association [ALA] and Lauren Comito leads Urban Librarians Unite [ULU]. According to ALA findings efforts to ban...

For this BCR program, we spoke with two Jewish Israeli's. Nahum Schnitzer is my cousin. Ariella Dubrowin is my cousin once removed. Both have raised their families in Israel, Nahum -- 40 years – Ariella – 20. The conflict in Gaza has encased their world in ways that neither I – nor most of you listening to this podcast – can fully get. Ariella wrote me about a month ago. She wa...

In 1963, when the Supreme Court overturned Gideon v Wainwright, Justice Hugo Black wrote: “Even the intelligent and educated layman requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence.”  The public defender is that legal bulwark that wor...

May 1961 -- Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International, wrote that he was sickened by governments imprisoning citizens for speaking or singing in protest.  The work of Amnesty International continues around the world and on the Upper West Side with members of Group 11. Since the early 1970s members of Group 11 have helped to free prisoners of conscience in Iran, Chile, China,...

Sharing the joyful and angry sounds of our city at the end of a year of retching violence. Let the human-made turbulence of 2023 pass quickly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1948, all nations signed onto a document stating that the way a government treats its citizens can be judged by the rest of the world. This December, 2023, is the 75th Anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR].  Joining us for this conversation on the Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar porch are three women who explained the significance of the U...

This BCR conversation may seem complex but its also simple – and – will possibly end human existence. If your physician can access all of your medical records, she will do a better job. And if generative AI knows all about the health of every human -- what then? We talked with two experts developing the power of Artificial Intelligence to keep us healthy. Dr. Mark Braunstein is the guru of FH...

Late November, 2023 -- John C. Wester -- Archbishop of Sante Fe -- spoke at the Church of Our Savior at E. 38th Street and Park Avenue. About 200 were gathered to honor the 43rd anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day – and – to consider the abolition of nuclear weapons.  At the United Nations that week the countries that signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons were...

What is a bank? What is a bank for? Can a bank fight evil and right wrongs? Or is a bank no more than a profit-seeking shark working for its investors? Or - both? For this BCR program we had a conversation about a little bank that could … that is, could make our lives better through responsible investments.  We invited Ivan Frishberg -- Senior Vice President Chief Sustainability Officer...

According to Britannica, a musical composition is the art of conceiving and creating music.   I love to sing, and I very much enjoy listening to music. That part I get, but to compose music, to pick out the notes, the instruments… I’m completely at a loss. Fortunately, we have three women composers with us today who will explain what it means to be a female composer in today’s music worl...

We are looking forward to sharing a conversation about a great American -- Eleanor Roosevelt. Shannon McKenna Schmidt has focused her literary work on travel. She has written for National Geograpic , Traveler , Nashville Public Television and Arrive magazine – and has appeared on Morning Joe and The Travel Show with Arthur and Pauline Frommer.  We spoke to Ms. Schmidt about her most recent bo...

BCR likes NYC and our like has grown since we learned about NYCH2O . For this program we talked with the founder and leader of NYCH2O – Matthew Malina.  Matt works to educate New Yorkers about their city’s local water ecology – in order protect our natural water resources -- and with Peter Frishauf -- founder of Medscape – but for today – more importantly – Peter is an UWS community leader wh...

Rebecca McKean and I drove to Fonda, NY for the 25th Annual Kateri Peace Conference. We spoke with several major players in the contemporary "no war" peace movement in the United States -- who are working to help the rest of us see the insanity of war and its link to the climate disaster. The voices on this program include the following: Maureen Aumond, John Amidon, David Swanson, Gloria Caballero...

Becky and I went on a tempestuous drag race at Gebhard’s Beer Culture Bar as we dug down into Drag culture with two young NYC Drag Queens following their command performance for an Open Streets event. We talked with Drag artists Ann Arky and Vampy Von Thickums Galore who had recently performed at the International Drag Queen Celebration on West !03rd Street organized by Park to Park 103 and Open S...