Fred's Front Porch Podcast

While it sometimes seems impossible to imagine a different world, I believe imagination is central to change.  I believe we can end Poverty and Homelessness, and I am certain we can all stop making unwarranted judgments about those who are different from us. This was a fact laden episode, so there are lots of show notes.  Here they are: MIT Study https://academic.oup.com/qje/article- abs...

The sound is different tonight.  That's part of the fun.  It will change as the episode progresses. When I talk about the far-left and the far-right in this episode, I'm discussing a person's position on a standard bell curve.  It has nothing to do with political affiliation. Here are the links to which I refer: Healthcare: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/universal-health...

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Life is brief. We need to spend more of it noticing, loving intentionally, and living meaningfully.

Hello, Friends of the Front Porch! Jenner here. While Fred is on the road to California, I'm posting this week's episode. I am, however, notoriously bad at show notes. So please excuse the complete ineptitude on that end and Enjoy the Show! Fred's wonderful words will be back Next Week.

David Gerrold, the author of the classic Star Trek episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles" kindly granted me permission to use his words.  He wrote a scathing essay on the downfall of the once honorable Republican Party, and tonight I'm reading it to you, along with some of my own commentary.  I hope I did justice to his words.  That's for you to decide. Please support me on Patreon: h...

A story of childhood fears soothed by adult courage.  A story of Barnabas Collins and Eliza Doolittle.  A story of Jonny Quest and Sesame Street.  A story of brothers and sisters.  A story of domestic abuse.   Please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Freds_Front_Porch?fan_landing=true Support Studio Stargazer: https://www.studiostargazer.org/help

What if you had three wishes?  Have you ever thought about for what you would wish? In this horror story, wishes come true.  "Be careful what you wish for; you may receive it" - Anonymous Please support me on Patreon or Anchor: https://www.patreon.com/Freds_Front_Porch?fan_landing=true

In a church, one is likely to find both eulogies and confessions.  I offer one of each tonight.   These are both from the Summer of 2019.  I lost my dog, Melanie, on June 14th of that year.  I wrote her eulogy that night.  I finally had the strength to deliver it this week.   Some members of my family, a few weeks afterward, told all of my Facebook Friends that if the...

This is the exciting true story of Sara Niemietz's concert.  Your favorite introvert braves the horrors of human beings, shuttles, airlines, rental cars, terrifying roads, and a complete lack of internet just to see a 90 minute show.  Was it worth all the effort?   It starts with me getting up to go from Arizona to California to hear Sara Niemietz perform.  It ends with some of...

Most of Us work to make life easier for very few of Us.  Do the needs of the many really outweigh the needs of the few? This is a passionate plea to restructure society so that We, The People, have better lives. Links: Bailouts: https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/list Quotations: https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/.../the-anti-social.../ . https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communitie...

I still have sufficient intellect to recognize my intellect is declining. I know of no better word to describe this than horror. It's irreversible, and it's building speed. I'm writing and recording for my life. I know the time when I won't be able to do this anymore is fast approaching. I don't know what I'll do then. This is my essay The Online Panhandler: frededer.home.blog/2019/06/21/online-pa...

I conducted a Town Hall Meeting on my Facebook page this week, and I turned it into this fictional Town Hall.  The Question: Would you object to getting $2000 a month simply for being a citizen? You may recognize your own words in this, but you won't recognize yourself.  I used characters from literature who bear no resemblance to the actual speakers. If you would like to add your voice...

This will almost certainly be my favorite podcast.  This is the long awaited hour-plus long conversation with the person whose Art is the inspiration for most of what you hear on this show. Members of The Sara Niemietz Friends Club will find the answers to many of your questions in this episode. I've never been so excited about an episode of my show.  Even if you, for reasons passing und...

What do you do when you are terrified of other people, and you spend an entire weekend with them?  You go see your Therapist. What do you do when you can't afford a Therapist?  You invent your own. Please support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Freds_Front_Porch?fan_landing=true

It's a challenge to find Common Ground with someone who wishes to deny our right to be free.  This is my effort to encourage everyone to defend that right. Links: "He can simply be reinstated" https://www.newsweek.com/sidney-powell-claims-trump-can-simply-reinstated-biden-told-leave-white-house-1596207 Michael Flynn calls for a coup: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/01/louie-gohm...

This is my 100th Episode.  To commemorate this milestone, I'm spending an entire episode on one  piece of music.  Sara Niemietz's  "On Your Way" is more than just my favorite song. I explain why this song means so much to me.  I hope it will deepen your appreciation of her music. I made errors in this episode because I was writing from the heart instead of doing the necess...

We've been told The Free Press is "The Enemy of The People."  Are they really?  Listen, and tell me what you think.   You're welcome to call the show with your thoughts whenever you wish.  I'll play them on the air and respond to them. (480) 331 - 9822.   I won't answer.  Just leave a voicemail. Support the Show on Patreon for commercial free episodes: https://www.pat...

This is almost a real time account of my trip to England in July of 1997.  The picture you see is the Journal that my sister in law and her brand new husband bought me for the express purpose of recording the events.  I simply read from it. Anthony Bourdain I'm not.  There is, however, more to this than food, Stratford, and Hamlet.   This is the Genesis of Exodus. Support me on...

Those of us who suffer from Clinical Depression frequently fight battles with the Prosecutor in our heads who tells us why we should be miserable.  They find all our flaws.  They scream about our insecurities.  They attack us on every level they can find.   Your Prosecutor will be different from mine. What worries me isn't what worries you.  I think, though, that even thos...

This is the first time I've shared a true story with you.  This is from 50 years in my past.  I haven't seen Kelly Ashby since a year after this story takes place.  I learned that Turkey was something more than a Thanksgiving meal when her father got transferred there.  Crackers still scares me. My Father passed away 11 years ago.  My Mother, whose voice you heard several...

By now, most of you have probably figured out that Horace is another version of me.  This story takes place around the same time as "The Tempest," but now Fred has become Horace, The Frightened Little Fat Boy.  This is the second story in my collection, "The Third Person Fictional Autobiography of Horace Singleman." This was probably written around 1983, right after The Police released t...

This is unique.  I'm uploading an episode I've never heard.  I recorded some raw audio, and I turned it over to Jenner from The Mind Wave Podcast, to which you should listen often.  I let him put all the pieces together, and he selected the picture for this week's episode as well.  I'm as excited to hear this as you are. I will return to more serious work next week, but... you finally get to hear...

We've been taught and convinced for most of our lives that we should all spend a portion of our lives being miserable.  I'm going to challenge that idea tonight.  It's a controversial position, but radical thoughts are what change the world. Chuck Curry's music can be found here: http://chuckcurrymusic.com/ Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Freds_Front_Porch?fan_landing=true

The Alien Archaeologists return to learn what they can about Fathers.  We do our best to explain. Support me on Patreon, please... https://www.patreon.com/Freds_Front_Porch?fan_landing=true