It's Another Podcast!
Worried about Iran and nuclear weapons? Maybe you should be. We interviewed military and intelligence experts Austin Bay and Jim Dunnigan, and they had a lot to say. Some of it is reassuring, and some of it isn't.
To hear the podcast, click here. (No iPod required!) You can also get it via iTunes by clicking here.
Austin Bay's blog is here, and Jim Dunnigan publishes StrategyPage, a military and intelligence website.
As always, let us know what you think in the comments.
posted by Helen at 8:28 PM
16 Comments:
Hello. This is my first time to go to your podcast - it was just terrific - I was glued to the screen for the whole 26 + minutes. Very smart commentary and more info than I have gotten anywhere else. Wish we could see a pic of the interviewees during the cast just to know what they look like. Am a very big fan of the instapundit!
Maureen Dunn
nmdunn@hctc.net
Very interesting. Your guests are well informed and aren't forced to spit out a two minute soundbytes unlike on cable tv. Nice to know they won't have suitcase nukes for a while.
Great format for discussing a serious issue. Excellent guests who obviously know their subject. You have performed a valuable service by posting this podcast. Keep up the good work!
The podcast was densely informative and well-appreciated. To venture a personal preference, sensitivity from your guests to their hosts' interjections, and from you more frequent engagement directly in the exchange, would give an even more pleasing quality to your broadcasts.
May the mood to podcast continue striking the Reynolds'.
The subject of your pod cast with Austin and Jim sounds interesting. Do you post transcripts of your pod casts?
I would prefer a transcript or a written interview because:
1) I can read faster than an interview is spoken.
2) In a written document it is easy re-read selected parts.
3) I can cut and paste information for future reference, to comment on, and to e-mail or post elsewhere (with appropriate attribution).
These three reasons are why I'm getting news from the internet in the first place. (Another reason is that I want to know the truth). Since there is more information than I have time to read I will access the sources I can absorb most efficiently ie. written items.
I'm sure there are many people like me so if you want to get the most impact from the effort you are putting into the pod casts, please consider providing transcripts.
Great stuff! It's all about giving air time to informed guests and letting them talk. Forget about show formats and agendas! People that want to be informed with real information will seek out the best source thereof. Post more!
Kevin
Read Strategy Page (SP),had to have tactical defense against cookies there. Very informative. Your husband's pulling the curtain for us to view the Iranian (non)elction was the biggest blogoshere event of 2005 for me. A recent USAFA grad says, 'Let the Israeli's do it (set back nuclear program with bombing ..).' 'They have a lot of F-15s.' Refuel, no problem. 'There in a better moral position for action.' Recent provocation, Iran through Hizbollah just hit them. Hillary Clinton speaking to the Jewish base in NY just gave them cover. The market, ? nervously, anticipates action.
Great guests. Make them a regular feature. They're more informative and cut to the chase unlike the talking heads of cable news. They deserve their own discussion show, seriously.
Wonderful podcast from a pair of gentlemen who know their subjects and can speak articulately. A big thanks to Glenn and Dr Helen for staying out of the way and letting Austin Bay and James Dunnigan do the talking.
For those who do not know, James Dunnigan has been studying the art, history, technology, sociology, and politics of war (did I miss anything?) for decades. He has been the publisher of numerous military simulations (aka war games) and related articles - I first came across his work in the early 1970s when he was the publisher of SPI and "Strategy & Tactics" magazine. I can strongly recommend his books, such as "How to Make War" and "A Quick And Dirty Guide to War" to gain a better understanding of the subject.
As to the topic of the podcast, we can only guess what bomb design technology Iran has received. If they have to develop it themselves, I think Jim's assertion is correct that they are more likely to have developed a "nuclear device" comparable to early 1950s American/Soviet technology and requiring something the size of a shipping container or a large aircraft to deliver. However, Pakistan's nuclear weapons are supposed to fit on a Scud-type missle similar to what Iran has. If Iran has and is able to apply this technology, then they can have weapons and missle delivery systems.
I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! With these two guests, you "lost control" of the session which led me to two observations. 1.) I started to question the accuracy of some of the facts presented by Jim and Austin - I'm not an expert on Iran or the ME. 2.) "Losing control" was part of the enjoyment - here we had a free exchange of ideas not limited by commercial breaks and other limitations. Thanks and keep up the good work!!
This is the second Podcast of yours that I have listened to and I really enjoyed them both. I would like to see Michelle Malkin and Dunnigan/Bay as regulars on the Dr Helen/Instapundit podcast schedule.
I think it is important to have Dunnigan and Bay on together. They have collaborated with each other for years and as a listener, I can feel the chemistry between the two of them. It is not groupthink I saw between them, but rather two very knowledgable people who challenge each other and build on each other's ideas to illuminate the military/political subjects that both men have devoted their lives to studying.
In summary, this was yet again an other excellent podcast - congratulations to both Glenn and yourself for taking the time to produce and broadcast this interview.
Excellent, informative podcast. It's sort of NPRish without the left tilt (especially when Prof. Reynolds uses his 'radio' voice during the intro)
And if you listen to Mr. Dunnigan at 1.5X speed he sounds surprisingly like JFK (but then most people sound like JFK at 1.5X normal speed).
(for those who complain about time, that's one solution, most people are intelligible at 1.5X speed)
You both did a good job of staying out of the way of guests who had a lot to say (not that you had much choice).
Whether you had to pull stuff out of a guest (like Ms. Cox, though once questioned she was forthcoming) or they provide everything you could want from the word go (like Dunnigan/Bay) you provided a solid forum for discussion.
Given the time limits you seem to be putting these under, are you considering distributing these to NPR, or Talk Radio, for half-hour slots?
There might be some stations interested, though they might expect a regular schedule, and then a fun side project becomes work.
Also, suggestions for future podcast subjects (besides Norah Vincent which I hope you get), a sci-fi writer or two (say John Scalzi, or Peter Hamilton), or new to blogging Scott Adams (his Dilbert.Blog has been pretty funny)
XWL,
Great suggestions for guests--I think Scott Adams is really hilarious and Scalzi's "Old Man's War" really seems to be a hit although I have yet to read it.
We have been aiming for around 20-30 minutes just because shorter is too short and longer too boring--no thoughts of any type of distribution. We are just enjoying the guests and hope to find interviewees who can teach or help our readers learn something of interest--that is the main goal for the moment! Thanks very much for listening.
Glad you liked the feedback.
After reading this at HuffPo, part of me would love to hear you and Prof. Reynolds eviscerate the author of Rogue State.
But I don't think that's the kind of 'cast you are interested in doing. Maybe in the future the occaisonal hostile guest could be as informative, if not more so, than a friendly one.
It's a thought for an additional direction you might take this project, one that you can readily dismiss, but hopefully at least consider. (and there are ways to do this with out going too 'O'Reilly' with it, I'm sure the two of you are capable of killing fools with kindness)
I'm late in listening to your Dunigan/Bay podcast. (That's part of the beauty of the internet - it fits my schedule instead of the other way around.)
First, I like the 2 guest format, especially with Jim Dunigan and Austin Bay. They feed off each other and you feel like you are listening in to a private conversation between 2 really informed guys. If you get 2 people for your podcasts, I recommend that they be synergistic rather than antagonists (no pro and con debate - it's likely to become too hostile for an audio format).
Second, more Dunigan and Bay on other war and terror topics. I know from their books and blogs they are a deep source of information on these subjects.
Third, I'd like to see Austin Bay return for a discussion of higher education. He may also have an interesting perspective on whether there is a crisis for boys in education.
Fourth, I'd like interviews of other "famous" bloggers and internet folks. Along those lines, would you be willing to interview each other about your main professional interests?
希望大家都會非常非常幸福~
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