The Gritty Hour

Send us Fan Mail Author Stephen Shaiken stopped by to discuss his new book Queensborough Rock.  A novel based in 1971 New York City, the story centers on struggling band manager Jack Bernstein as he navigates his way through his highly competitive field during the heyday of rock-n-roll in the early seventies. We were joined by co-host George Bauer as Mr. Shaiken discussed his inspiration for this...

Send us Fan Mail Along with co-host George Bauer, today we discussed the challenges and advantages of an independent record label in the internet era with John Templeman, the owner of JIB Machine Records in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Templeman describes and ascribes his success to networking with strategic partners, and the base of it all,  his deep love of music. Check out JIB Machine Records  for all...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jim Curtis, author of "Decoding Dylan: Making Sense of the Songs that Changed Modern Culture" returns to discuss the Bob Dylan of the 21st Century.  Dr. Curtis explores the art and sculpture of this modern culture icon, and his inevitable comparisons to Picasso. Bob Dylan, One Too Many, 2020 Image Copyright Bob Dylan Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram Yo...

Send us Fan Mail Felice Manzi stopped by in the morning to converse about health, politics, and whatever else was on our minds. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Everything is subjective!  Robert Pucci, retired professor of Media and Communications in the SUNY Schools, dropped by to exchange and examine the Top 10 movies of all time. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Sofie Devens stopped by to tell us about her recent trip to Papua New Guinea.  Follow along as Sofie deftly describes the long journey from New York, the cultural differences and customs, and her stay in a local tribe's village where her childhood friend is doing missionary work. Travel vicariously through her eyes as she takes us all the way to Oceania and back home again. C...

Send us Fan Mail Joined by co-host George Bauer, Dr. Jim Curtis stopped by to discuss his book "Decoding Dylan: Making Sense Of The Songs That Changed Modern Culture". Dr. Curtis makes a refreshingly cerebral analysis of Dylan's songs and their effect on society, as well as the influence Dylan has had on popular music from the early sixties to this day. Along with his other book, &q...

Send us Fan Mail Author of "The Coca Cola Trail", Larry Jorgensen returned to discuss his new book "Shipwrecked and Rescued". This is an amazing true story of the 1926 wreck of The City of Bangor off the coast of Michigan in Lake Superior.  A ship with 23 crewmen and over 200 brand new Chrysler cars. Mr. Jorgensen describes the incredible efforts of local townspeople and Walter...

Send us Fan Mail Vic Ferrari, author of "NYPD: Through The Looking Glass : Stories From Inside America's Largest Police Department" joined co-host George Bauer. Mr. Ferrari, who hails from The Bronx, and served as a Detective in the NYPD, has written several humorous books about the behind the scenes exploits of New York's finest.  His newest book "Confessions of a Catholi...

Send us Fan Mail JR McCarthy, Denis McCarthy, Fred Romandetto, and George Bauer all joined us to discuss growing up in the Parkchester section of The Bronx, NY. Lifelong friends, we discussed the challenges and blessings of a time and place that, for the most part, no longer exists. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Adjunct Professor Anthony Mannara stopped by to discuss the changes to the stock markets and Wall Street in general over the course of the last few decades. Mr. Mannara teaches Macro Economics at Fordham University and Securities & Investment Analysis at Hunter College, both in New York City. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Coin collector and avid Metal Detecting hobbyist Joe Devito stopped by to share his experience and knowledge from his years in the hobby. You can email Joe here: JoeyD74@msn.com Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Professor Robert Pucci joined us to discuss the tried and true techniques involved in making a movie.  Professor Pucci taught Media and Communications at SUNY for many years and his insight here gives us a glimpse into one of his classes. Movies specifically mentioned as examples of great technique are: The 39 Steps (1935) On The Waterfront (1954) Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) The G...

Send us Fan Mail Today with spoke with Chris from CNM Housing Solutions LLC in Pennsylvania about the effects of the current economy on his business, which is mainly flipping houses. Discussed are the effects of inflation and the increasing interest rates on his ability to turn depressed real estate assets into affordable housing. To learn more, please visit https://www.cnmhousingsolutions.com/ Ch...

Send us Fan Mail Barry Kieselstein-Cord, Henry Boehringer, and Phil Kosofsky dropped by once again to discuss the topics of the day. As mentioned in the first episode of The Pontificators, each of these men are experts in their respective fields, and we value their takes on current events. We hope to have them back on The Gritty Hour on a fairly regular basis. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble...

Send us Fan Mail Once again, everything is subjective. I sat once more with Mr. George Bauer and discussed his and my top 10 favorite albums of all time. As stated in our episode entitled "Top 10 Albums Of All Time",  Mr. Bauer is a life-long friend and our tastes and picks are very similar. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Mr. JR McCarthy and Professor Robert Pucci return to summarize and tie up the issues discussed in the first two parts of this series.  This summary ends with a hopefulness on the future of education in America. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail "Defining Deviancy Down: How We've Become Accustomed To Alarming Levels Of Crime and Destructive Behavior" as written by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D) NY in 1993. This essay is mentioned from time to time on this podcast when discussing political matters.  It is read in it's entirety here for the purpose of reference.   Check our other links: Twitter Rumb...

Send us Fan Mail Felice Manzi stopped by to give his impression of the state of things in society, and his take on where things are headed for America. Check our other links: Twitter Rumble Instagram YouTube

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Bryant, author of "Spies On The Sidelines: The High Stakes World of NFL Espionage", and co-host George Bauer came by to discuss Kevin's great book, and discuss how NFL teams try and find that 'edge" by gathering info on their opponents.  The methods used become greater and more intense as the teams progress through the playoffs, and culminate for the...

Send us Fan Mail A quick review of season two.  we'd like to thank all of the folks who were guests on the show this season.  We'd also, of course, like to thank all of our listeners who tuned in throughout the year.  We certainly appreciate you, and hope you enjoyed the content. We look forward to season three, which promises to be bigger and better than ever.  Look for us around the se...

Send us Fan Mail Of course, everything is subjective. I sat with Mr. George Bauer and discussed his and my top 10 favorite albums of all time.  Mr. Bauer is a life-long friend and, as such, our tastes and picks are very similar. Links for Van Morrison's performance of Caravan from The Last Waltz and Bruce Springsteen's performance of Quarter To Three from No Nukes are below. This is our...

Send us Fan Mail Mr. JR McCarthy returned, along with Adjunct Professor Anthony Mannara and Professor Robert Pucci, to dig a little bit deeper into the issues behind the perceived decline of education in America. This episode is a follow-up to the previous "The State Of Education" episode.  We plan to pursue this topic further in season three, so stay tuned.... Check our other links: Twi...

Send us Fan Mail Today we spoke with writer John Winn Miller about his new novel The Hunt For The Peggy C: A World War II Maritime Thriller. The book follows Jake Rogers, Captain of a tramp steamer, as he makes his way through U-boat infested waters with his most valuable cargo: a Jewish family from Amsterdam fleeing Nazi persecution. For more information on this exceptional new novel, please visi...

Send us Fan Mail Today we spoke with author and blogger Caroline Ailanthus about her novel "Ecological Memory". The book follows Etzy Rodriguez and Andy Cote, two survivors of a post-apocalyptic pandemic.  Written just before Covid, this novel portends how nature can heal itself without human interference. Please visit the author's blog at http://www.newsfromcaroline.wordpress.com f...