Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show

In November of  2013, the nation was "more divided than we have ever been before!" The issue at  hand was healthcare, and specifically the lawsuit that was headed to the  District Court over Obamacare. Odd as it seems  today, at the time it was NOT at all clear what any Court would rule on the  matter. And on the DC Circuit, where the case was headed, there were three seat...

Here's my question.... is there anything we are missing in the whole "overturn Roe discussion?" Of course there is, but do we even care? Let's start here - in the internal working of the SCOTUS, there is a certain level of required trust. People were often amazed that Scalia and Ginsberg were  such good friends. That friendship required something that we don't like to talk about - trust. The...

In the Book of Judges, we read a very tragic – albeit strange to our ears – tale of a mess of a situation involving a man, his concubine, some really bad people and an entire civil war which killed thousands in a meaningless cause. In the Midrash, the Rabbi’s debate just who was a fault, and they come to a surprising, but oddly relevant to us today, conclusion…

On this episode of Dave Does History* , Bill Mick and Dave talk about the strange case of Fred Korematsu, a man who was arrested, charged and convicted of being in the wrong place because he was of Japanese ancestry. Now… you might think that sounds really… well… stupid. And pretty much everybody around NOW agrees that it was. But at the time, it sort of… made sense? Maybe? At any rate, as the nat...

My vaunted  technology failed me this morning, and the video portion of this was lost to the bit bucket... On Fridays I like to drive Ben to school. It's just an other chance for us to spend some time together and have breakfast as we drive in a less than typical high traffic  time. It's also a chance for him to ask me questions that seem... well... typically Ben-esque. "Dad, why isn't t...

Back in 2007/08, I was pretty much alone in a theory that I had regarding California's Prop 8 - the  ban on gay marriage in California. I said on the air then, and I still believe now, that the left wanted Prop 8 to pass. That is to say that they wanted the voters to ban gay marriage in California. Why? Because that is how gay marriage would go on to become the law of the entire  land. A...

In April of 1917  the US Government had a problem. It had just declared war on Imperial Germany, less than six months after re-electing President Wilson who's entire campaign theme was "He Kept Us Out of the War..." The problem wasn't the political flip-flop, but rather the fact that roughly a third of all American Citizens were either immigrants from or descended from immigrants  from.....

The Sub Vets, Eric and Dave , are joined by Jamie Ferguson, who was a Sonar Tech aboard USS Darter, USS  Louisville and USS La Jolla. Then, he became a  specialist in human torture and pain... a... please don't make us say this...  a... DENTIST!!!!!

My son (11) and  his my grandson (12) attend the same school and have the same PE teacher. On the walk to the bus stop this week, they were chatting about the class and how today is "Exercises Day," which they do not seem to enjoy as much as "Game Day." My grandson said, "They're going to make us do those sprint things..." I started to reply to him that they cannot actually make you do anythi...

After Eric almost dies * when a root canal goes rogue, he and Dave sit down to talk about their adventures with Navy Dentists (and doctors) and how they are scarred for life by the experience… * Eric did not die. Therefore it was an adventure…

Dave Bowman joins Bill Mick to close out Tuesday with our weekly trip through the  Wayback Machine as we get his unique perspectives on history. Today…just what  makes history and who are the players?

So... there is no What the Frock  today, because... well... reasons... This past week has been a very stressful time in the House of David. Cami is changing her job, neighbors are leaving, pollen counts are up, Norwich City FC is going down, and  several other things that have changed the course of life have happened.

Back in 2013, John got a new pair of sunglasses... mirrored sunglasses... 

April 19, 1775 was the day that the American Revolution ended. I know that sounds odd, since it was the day that he British tried to seize the Colonial military stores at Concord, and the shot heard 'round the world was fired. But the reality is that was the moment when the American Revolution ended and the war which was its consequence began...

Now that Russia has confirmed the loss of the Moskva, some of the questions that we had can begin to be answered. Or not.  Rumors are flying today about what, if anything, may have been aboard the ship, including atomic weapons and Christian relics...

In 1986, I opened  the pages of the newest Tom Clancy novel, "Red Storm Rising," and immersed myself in a story that should have been a forewarning. In my days, we had certain assumptions about the Soviets and their Navy capabilities and tactics. Looking back it is easy to see that we assumed - and yes I know what that means - that the Soviets were tactical luddites, incapable of rapid adapta...

I said this some  weeks ago, but stop telling me how "slam dunk" the polls say that the midterms are going to be. I have long had a political mantra that I find myself repeating a lot. It's simply this:                                 ...

This is what being a American living in the 21st Century has done to me. Since 2014 I have been saying loudly and to anybody who will listen that I do not see any “National Interest” for this nation in Ukraine that would justify the blood of even one American Solider, Sailor, Airman or Marine. I also know that our military-industrial complex can make anything into a national security issue. As I w...

Bill Mick and Dave get together for Dave does History on WMMB to talk about what makes a good President. How did we even decide to have a President in the first place, and what were some of the difficulties to overcome in the process ?

On March 31, 1492, the world changed. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued a decree that expelled the Jews from Spain. One of the most famous paintings in the world depicts the moment from the perspective of the Catholic Church, as the local cleric accuses the Jews of trying to bribe the King into revoking the decree by claiming that the offer was the moral equivalent of thirty pieces of silve...

Dave takes a look at a recent comment  - or more precisely a lack of comment - by the President when he was directly asked if the United States would pledge to not use nuclear weapons in a first  strike..

Dave joins   BILL MICK to talk about Project Candor, which seems like a great idea... until you scratch the surface of it and discover that what it really did  was justify a vast expansion of the not just the military-industrial complex, but another complex that we see almost every day in our news. If Ike saw it coming and tried to warn us, why didn't we listen to him? Because there is n...

Time is a little pressed today, so I took a cue from the MILSURPWRITER and just took a little drive. The problem with Judge Brown Jacksons answer about “not being a biologist” isn’t that she isn’t a biologist. That wasn’t even the real question.  The problem is that one is left to wonder exactly how in touch with the issues of the day she actually is…?

One of the things that I most enjoyed about the  radio show and working with John Considine was that in the middle of an hour  long discussion about the Supreme Court and Prop 8 was that we could be  distracted by a promo for an upcoming show...

I have always said that this show, the podcast in specific, is abut making sure that Ben has a record of me. Who I am, what I thought and believed. I have always wished for some record of my ancestors, and I wanted to make certain that some day, my children and grandchildren would have some idea of who I am and why I am the way I am. I understand that in the future, my ideas will most likely been...