Plausibly Live - The Dave Bowman Show

Bill Mick and Dave continue their discussion of the Presidency of  Dwight D Eisenhower...  If there had been no war in Korea, would there have  been a President Eisenhower? Are there lessons for today from that sequence of  events?

A listener to the show wanted to know what I thought our submarines are up to as the international tension continues to increase. In the world of submarines, the tension level really isn’t the issue, as the game of “Hide & Seek” keeps on being played… THIS DISCUSSION CONTAINS NO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

Things are seldom  what they seem. In a way, that's one of the lessons of the story of Esther and  Purim. Like Esther "hiding" her true identity or Ahasuerus leaving out the fact it was Mordechai, not Haman he wanted to honor, everything we see today seems to have a waiting surprise and plot twist. Or at least a hidden sub-text that we pretend surprises us when it is inevitably revealed....

Today is Purim . At sundown tonight, the holiday begins, as we celebrate the defeat of the wicked Haman (insert grogger sound here). For many years my favorite line in scripture comes from the Book of Esther, when Mordecai is telling her that she doesn’t really know if this moment isn’t the very reason that she was placed in her position. It’s a lesson that I have taken – and used – many times in...

As the last day of July, 1914 came to its close over dinner on a Paris Street, there was a gathering of men who came to discuss the issue of the day.  It seemed as if a sprit of “ kriegsgefahrsustand ” had taken firm control over everything and everyone. Seemingly, there was no stopping the calamity that was creaking through its opening phase. But IF it could be stopped, there was at least on...

It's "Dave Does History on Bill Mick  Live. This week, at the request of a listener, we take a look at Dwight D.  Eisenhower. We'll start our journey with how Ike even ended up being on the  ballot in the first place, which will surprise you since he never actually told  anybody he was running, let alone for which Party!

Now and again, I get distracted by another topic that pulls at my interests. Yesterday, the MILSURPWRITER and I got into yet another discussion about Veterans. Specifically whether or not Veterans who make certain claims about their service while running for public office are… well…  being totally honest or just playing to the publics appetite for heroes? There is a long history of service in...

There are things that I know, but that I do not have a "need to know." Experience is a great value to a person, but it can, and indeed must, be combined with careful thought and considerations. I shared with you my thoughts on the war last week, now I give you my concerns about it...

A friend and long time listener texted me this morning to ask a question: What did I think was going to happen with regards to the Ukraine War? I have to be honest here, I am not very optimistic about it. History and human nature tell me that we both misunderstand and misapply the lessons of the past in such a way that cloud our judgment. In my view, we are being inexorably dragged into a world wi...

My son, Ben, who has a tendency to express himself through sadness, came home yesterday deeply concerned about the war. The matter had been discussed in one of his classes and I am of the opinion that is fine. That said, I spent more than three hours last evening (I missed my class) to talk with him about his concerns and to answer - as best I could - his questions, most of which revolve around "W...

What does bird guano have to do with Anonymous bringing down the Russian Internet? That's what Dave joins Bill Mick to talk about! 

On the early morning of August 2, 1990, I was headed to Williamsburg, VA. Riding north on I-64, crossing the Hampton Roads Bridge/Tunnel, just past Newport News, came the newsflash on the radio – Iraq has invaded Kuwait. That moment would go on to have a large impact on my own life. For our culture and society, there was an even bigger paradigm shift in the days ahead. Today, that shift continues,...

TRIGGER WARNING – The Crazy Haired One is gonna tell you some things that you don’t want to hear this morning. If you don’t like it, fine. But trust me, you DO NOT want to hear this… – Producer Henri Look, I hope that I am 100% wrong. I’m not, but it wouldn’t bother me at all if I were to be wrong about this. That said, I have some thought about this USSR-Ukraine war, and I’m pessimistic abou...

And so the war  that everybody said that they did not want has come. The parallels to 1914 and 1939 should be obvious to anyone with even a general knowledge of those conflicts. Right down to the assigning of blame on the world stage. Like the evening of July 28, 1914, we went to bed last night with no idea to what we would wake up in the morning. Will this conflict be contained? will it expa...

Yesterday on my personal page, I posted an article about the anniversary of the 1943 execution of Sophie Scholl . The story is inspiring for the simple reason that we tend to assume that everybody in Germany just went along with the crimes of the Nazis. But that was not the case. She had been a member of the White Rose, a group of students from the University of Munich who openly opposed the Nazi...

Dave joins Bill Mick on WMMB to talk about the way borders throughout history have effected the national psychology and have led to expectations and disappointments, and even the occasional conflict...

In late 1985, the  Cold War was simultaneously the hottest it had ever been AND it was at the same time obviously thawing. One of the most popular pop music acts of the era released an album that to this day still has a special place to me and has one of my Top Ten Of All Time songs . I was twenty-two years old, and the previous winter (1984) I had fallen head over heels in love with a girl t...

I don't have a lot to say about  the so-called "Durham Report." Mainly because I do not think that anybody - even  you - really cares about it. Before you send me your flame eMail or text or leave me a rambling voicemail about how tragic it is and how  outraged you are about it, just answer one simple question...  And if your answer to that question is "Yes," then you really do...

Bill Mick and Dave Does History as they discuss some of the lesser known  participants at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, including a delegate from  Pennsylvania. It is his special skill on which the Convention will call to leave  a lasting legacy...

It’s a weird thing. The most celebrated holiday in the entire world is Independence day. Since 1014, sixty-two countries have declared their independence from England. We – the United States – get the biggest bang for the buck for it. For the some twenty percent of the world, it’s a shared experience to throw off the yoke of the British Crown and decide for ourselves the destiny of the people. Mos...

In my mind there is an empty place where a memory should be. I know that it happened because all of my family tells me that it did. In fact, in many ways it was the defining moment of my destiny; a moment to which I attribute my deepest passion. But of the actual moment, I have no actual memory. Years later there would come a moment that I recall with the greatest clarity. Yet no one – not one – o...

VIDEO TEST A rather remarkable thing happened last week at a local book store. That remarkable thing led Dave down a path that leads to Joe Rogan, Mark Lye, and to O’Brien’s simple question: “How many fingers do you see?"

A rather remarkable thing happened last week at a local book store. Which led Dave down a path that leads to Joe Rogan, Mark Lye, and O’Brien’s simple question: “How many fingers do you see?

Bill Mick and Dave Bowman get together to do some history on WMMB. Last  week there was a WOW caller who brought up the idea of calling for an Article V  Convention. Would that work? what would it look like? Has it ever been done  before? This week we take a look at the myth that everything in our Constitution  is "easy..."

One of the foundational ideas of Judaism – and to a lesser expressed extent, other faiths – is the concept of charity. The Rebbe used to hand people dollar bills with instructions to give charity. The minimum amount is the the famed “10%,” While the sages made sure that common sense prevailed and limited the maximum to 20%. In recent days, we have seen the world of charitable giving upended by the...