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A program of good sounds -- mix of classic jazz and hip hop beats -- and noise -- nonessential helicopters circling our City. We talked with leaders of Stop the Chop -- Melissa Elstein and Ken Counghlin -- working to end the incessant noise of private helicopters hovering over our heads. And we caught up with a former BCR guest -- jazz saxophonist Geoff Burke -- and learned about his unique synthesis of classic jazz and hip hop beats. and shared some of the music from the June 2023 concert at the West Side Community Garden on the Upper West Side. Let us know what you think of our eclectic little podcast at barcrawlradio@gmail.com Alan Winson and Rebecca McKean -- BCR Co-hosts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the spring of 1958 – the Golden Rule -- a 30 foot skiff crewed by four -- sailed towards the Marshall Islands where the U.S. military was testing atomic bombs. Their plan was to anchor their tiny boat in the waters close to the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls -- in order to stop the atomic testing. Over six decades later a restored “Golden Rule” sailed up the Hudson River and moored at Chelsea Pier. It was Fleet Week and the skiff's message of nuclear disarmament was displayed on its mizzen mast. For this program I biked over to the Chelsea Piers and spent some time on the Veterans for Peace Golden Rule sailboat with the crew and its supporters – as they continue to effort to end the looming possibility of Nuclear War. Alan Winson - Producer BCR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interview with Lew Tabackin -- world famous jazz musician -- in his home on the UWS of Manhattan -- July 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 21, 2023 - 6pm. West Side Community Garden It was a delightful evening in the West Side Community Garden in Manhattan. The Bar Crawl Radio audio wagon was set up on the grass in front of the stage in the garden – as neighbors secured a chair or wooden planter ledge to listen to the Lew Tabackin Jazz Trio. Tenor saxophone and flute musician -- Mr Tabackin has been playing these summer concerts for many years.   Jon Ross -- founder and director of MicroAid International -- joined us for a pre-concert warm-up conversation. We had talked with Jon about his work in building single family houses in areas hit by disaster on BCR #36 and #111. This evening we caught up with Mr Ross recent work with MicroAid -- and then asked him what he would do if he saw a stranger being attacked on the street – or subway.   Then -- listen to a sampling of the evening's music played by the Lew Tabackin Jazz Trio with Boris Kozlov on bass and Jason Tiemann on drums – including two flute pieces by Tabackin “Garden and Lifetime” – and – “Out of this World” – a piece he wrote named after the “B Flat” Tokyo bar where he performs called – “B Flat Where Its At” -- a Billy Strayhorn standard – “Day Dream” -- and finally a bunch of tunes by George Gershwin. The podcast ends with 10 minutes of a longer interview I had with Mr. Tabackin in his UWS apartment in 2018. For the full interview see the additional material following this program.  BCR Co-Hosts Rebecca McKean and Alan Winson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently – David Brooks of the New York Times – wrote about the suicide of his close friend—Pete—and the feelings that followed. Brooks writes that experiencing the suicide of someone close “is not just sorrow; it is a state of consciousness that distorts perceptions of time, space and self.” In 2015, there were over 44,000 suicides in America – the 10th most common cause of death and rising – I million attempt suicide each year – one every 35 seconds. In the world some kills himself – herself every 40 seconds. Robert Altman's "Mash" [1970] was wrong -- suicide is not painless – it is a health issue that needs to be examined. For this Bar Crawl Radio podcast Rebecca and I talked with two people who study and write about suicide – and with the friends of Jen who recently killed herself. Carla Fine – has spoken extensively on suicide and is the author of the widely acclaimed book No Time to Say Goodbye – about Ms. Fine’s husband – a prominent New York physician who killed himself in 1989 when he was 43. Carla’s recent book was co-written with Dr. Michael Myers - it’s title -- Touched By Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss. Michael Myers is a leader in the field of suicide and professor of psychiatry at SUNY-Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn. In his 2017 book on physician-suicide – Why Physicians Die By Suicide: Lessons Learned From Their Families and Others Who Care – Dr. Myers shares his experiences of counseling doctors who are considering suicide.  If you or someone you know is suffering from a loss due to suicide, consider contacting The Samaritans NYC hotline -- 212 673 3000. This BCR program was recorded in May 2023 at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar in the UWS of Manhattan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 2 - Sunday - 2023. First day of the Sacred Peace Walk. 13 miles. We started at the Atomic Museum and walked through Paradise, where all the modern Las Vegas Casinos and hotels are located -- something to do with the local mobsters not wanting to pay high Las Vegas taxes. -- then, through old Las Vegas – then a sit-in at the over-the-top gaudy Fremont Experience -- then to the Las Vegas Catholic Worker for lunch – followed by a brief “hello” to the Carson County Jail – where several of the walkers would end up later in the week – a brief pass-by of the headquarters of the Nevada Nuclear Security Site – a stop at a small park memorializing the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, where 60 were killed and well over 400 injured – and a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Statue in north Las Vegas -- where I talked with Darcy Ike -- and home to the NDE compound on Barlett Street. It was a full day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day One of the Nevada Desert Experience’s “Sacred Peace Walk" -- Saturday April 1, 2023.  Walkers were gathering from all around the Unites States at the NDE compound – a former military barracks – bought by the local Franciscan and Catholic Worker community – then given to the NDE in 1982 as a center protestors of the nuclear testing taking place on Western Shoshone land on the Nevada Proving Grounds to the north. The NDE compound consists of three single floor houses, surrounding a central garden patio. I used the day to meet the Peace Walkers. Alan Winson – BCR Producer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Towards the end of World War II – my country detonated atomic bombs over Japanese cities, immediately killing thousands of civilians and thousand more soon after and maiming thousands for the rest of their lives.  I was born in 1949 -- My generation was taught that this military action was required to end the war – And I bought it -- Since 1945, our world has filled with more powerful atom bombs – -- in the hope that the threat of mutual destruction will dissuade their usage. So far – besides Nagasaki and Hiroshima – we have been lucky – but for how long? I am Alan Winson – this year for Passover – I walked with peace activists of the Nevada Desert Experience, from Las Vegas to Creech Air Force Base – the center of U.S drone warfare – and then to the Nevada Nuclear Test Site –where -- until the early 1990s, my country detonated over 1000 atom bombs. The craters that were left have been used to train astronauts navigating the lifeless terrain of the Moon.  I wanted to learn why-- for the past 40 years -- people of various beliefs and ethnicities gathered in Las Vegas, to walk the 60 miles to the entrance of the Nevada Nuclear Test Site where armed military stopped them at a broad white line in the road --  why each year they went to plead for an end to nuclear armament – when the need is so dire and change so impossible. For the first program in this 8-part series I talked with Joseph Kent -- curator of the Atomic Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As reported in the New York magazine earlier this year -- the Upper West Side of Manhattan above 96th Street is a pedestrian death zone. Reporter Justin Davidson described the many victims of the “neighborhood’s out-of-control traffic -- a Bermuda Triangle of pedestrian death” – Davidson wrote that “nine years into the Vision Zero era, we should really be calling it Vision 125 -- the average number of pedestrians killed each year in New York since 2014. One every three days. Organizations like Park to Park 103  are working to change this deadly dynamic by designing a walker- / biker-friendly 103rd Street from Riverside Park to Central Park. For this Bar Crawl Radio program Becky, Alina, and I ambled over to 103rd Street on the UWS to an exciting street fair promoting Open Streets. In a city filled with walkers and cars it is time we found an equitable balance. We spoke with Gale Brewer--UWS City Council person -- Shelly Fine -- unofficial "mayor" of the Upper West Side -- Peter Frishaut -- creator of Medscape and coordinator of the Open Streets Community Coalition -- Richard Robbins -- founder of Upper Westside Strategies -- and Cidalia Acosta -- a Magnet School Specialist at West Prep Academy. And we talked with the young Park to Park 103 Ambassadors of West Prep Academy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Becky and I spoke with the music-eclectic Gene Pritsker at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar a couple of days after his Sound Liberation Band deconstructed Beethoven at Birdland Jazz Club. It was a musical brainstorm called – “Ludwig’s Night out” – Beethoven is on a bar crawl while Sonata No. 4 (for violin & piano) is echoing in his brain. Several of the pieces created by Pritsker and Composer Concordance regulars are included in this edit. A bit on Gene Pritsker: He is primarily a composer – also --a rapper – DJ – guitarist –a coordinator of music concerts – teacher – and at one time an actor.  As of 2023 he had created over 900 compositions – including, chamber operas – orchestral and chamber works – electro-acoustic music – songs for hip hop and rock ensembles – with accents from many cultures - performed world wide. Gene is the co-director of Composers Concordance with Dan Cooper.  We last spoke with the musician at the bar for BCR #38 -- April 2019. It was great catching up with Gene who has been quite busy during the pandemic; for instance, he recorded the sound track for the new "Matrix Resurrections" at Abbey Road Studios and produced a record while in Berlin.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Scott Wandt joined this Bar Crawl Radio conversation to talk about ChatGPT but we got to a whole lot more -- exploring the impact of Artificial Intelligence [AI] as it exists today and into the future. Prof. Wandt of John Jay College of Criminal Justice is the Vice Chair for Technology of the Department of Public Management. His main interest is in technology and law and has worked with the FBI, The National Institute of Justice, Interpol, the United Nations, and the U.S. Bureau of Justice. Our conversation took us on a wild ride through the beauty and dangers of Bing's innovative large language bot that chats and the near-time introduction of self-driving cars that talk to us. So hang on -- this is a bumpy ride. We recorded on the Porch at Gebhards Beer Culture Bar on the UWS of Manhattan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2019 when the city knew not of COVID19 BCR co-hosts talked with Erwin Figueroa of Transportation Alternative about the bike culture of New York City. A lot has changed since then. Today – biking in the city is certainly scarier – maybe that’s a sign that some of us are getting old – but the variety of speedy e-bikes – e-scooters – Inmotion-style unicycles – BTW -- Onewheel describes their vehicles as “weapons” – mixed in with the ubiquitous metal shelled vehicles who own the streets – biking in NYC feels different to me. So today let’s talk about cycling in Metropolis. For this BCR conversation we talked with Juan Restrepo a senior organizer of Transportation Alternatives about the new Brooklyn Bridge bike lane and the continued dangers of cycling in the city. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shortly after the American North won the Civil War, construction on the East River bridge was started. Tammany Hall and graft controlled NY City and State, Ulysses S. Grant had just been elected President, and the German-immigrant and bridge designer/builder, who conceived the plan for the bridge, had died. Work on the Bridge took 13 years and up to 40 men died -- mostly immigrants. The cathedral-sized, wooden caissons which allowed workers to dig out the bottom of the East River used pressurized air, resulting in debilitating Caisson Disease-- otherwise known as the "bends." The Brooklyn Bridge was opened in 1883 and quickly became an American icon--a towering structure reflecting a sense of national pride and progress -- a reality, in part, built on greed and death. We spoke with Sarah Rosenblatt, an Architectural Conservationist who is working on restoring the original look of the Brooklyn Bridge -- and with Prof. Richard Haw who has written several books on the Bridge. His most recent book -- Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling. Recording at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar in Manhattan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Early in the summer of 2022, my Bar Crawl Radio host – Rebecca McKean -- and I travelled with our  grandson -- Jackson Castro -- to the family farm of Martha Hennessy – granddaughter of the founder of the Catholic Worker – Dorothy Day. While there, Martha told me of the work of a Catholic priest – Father Philip Gbao -- and suggested we produce a BCR program on his work with African students. Listen to that conversation with Father Philip in BCR #175.  For this BCR program, we spoke with two of Father Philip's students about their professional goals and dreams to raise awareness of the power of Ugandan women in a culture which undervalues their worth.   We spoke with Nambogwe Claire who is studying to be a community organizer and Birungi Martha who is working to be an automobile engineer.  Both see themselves as examples of a new and different choice for Ugandan women outside of marriage, domestic work, and child rearing. Alan Winson -- barcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a cold and windy Monday morning – Nov 14, 2022 – across the street from the United Nations. A group of U.S. veterans – many with combat experience – were building a watch tower – with 20 foot high painter’s scaffolding – on top of the city patio overlooking the Isaiah Wall and Peace monument – to call out to the UN that a large part of the world’s climate crisis was and is caused by the U.S. Military, We spoke with Veterans for Peace members -- Garett Reppenhagen / Tarak Kauf / Jim Rine / Ellen Barfield / Elliot Adams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in November 2022 -- I attended the christening of the newest -- most modern Staten Island Ferry – the Dorothy Day – named for the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. A half a year later – I am back on Staten Island for the maiden voyage of the Dorothy Day Ferry – asking what is the significance of naming a ferry after the great peace activist and soon-to-be Catholic Saint. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"How rich we are, we who profess voluntary poverty as a foundation for our work as agitators, to be able to take a ferry ride and be, within an hour, in [Staten Island] a rural area which is still part of New York City ... my conversion took place here." Dorothy Day's journal - Summer 1977. November 4, 2022 the newest Staten Island Ferry was commissioned "Dorothy Day." I traveled out to the event and spoke to those there to honor the event. Alan Winson -- BCR Co-host Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Baldwin argued that unlike Europeans, Americans do not know who they are.  In "Stranger in Paris," Baldwin argued that the French know who they are—ethnically, historically. But Americans are confused. He writes -- we know one when we see one, but cannot name what we have in common. The idea of “America” is formed in our precollege American History classes. But as Joseph Moreau argues – “Writing history is always political -- always reflects the relationships of power in the society.” For this BCR episode, hosts Rebecca McKean and Alan Winson, talked with American Historian, Joseph Moreau, author of “School Book Nation”. – an investigation of how American history has been taught to our children. Joseph Moreau is a history instructor at the Abraham Joshua Heschel High School in Manhattan. He holds a Ph.D. in “American Culture” from the University of Michigan. And historian Robert Snyder -- Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Journalism at Rutgers University in Newark. A prolific American Studies scholar – featured on radio and television, Robert Snyder conducted the research for Ric Burns documentary ‘New York.” Author of Crossing Broadway; Washington Heights and the Promise of New York,” and co-author of “All the Nations Under Heaven: Immigrants, Migrants, and the Making of New York.” And Rob is Manhattan’s Official Historian. This conversation was recorded at Gebhard's Beer Culture Bar in Manhattan. CONTACT Alan and Rebecca at barcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BCR hosts Rebecca and Alan spoke with actor Ronald Guttman after his one-actor performance in the play based on Camus' The Fall" at the Soho Playhouse bar. Matt -- the bartender -- talks about The Huron Club Bar [THC] -- which was also the set for the play and former speakeasy and brothel for Tammany Hall. THC Bar is an appropriate setting for Camus' final work -- "The Fall" (1956) -- which takes place at a "sailor's bar" in Amsterdam named renamed "Mexico City." Mr. Guttman talks about being up-close-and-personal with his audience as he roams through the audience as Jean Baptiste Clamence -- formerly a most successful attorney -- and now "judge-penitent. This is a play most appropriate for a time in need to self inspection. "The Fall" plays until mid November, 2022 at the Soho Playhouse in Manhattan. barcrawlradio@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

August 2, 2022. Outside the United States Consulate to the United Nations. Second day of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Several dozen people--mostly in their 70s or more--marched and chanted and practiced civil disobedience in a call to end the build-up of nuclear arms. Here is a reflection of what some of them believed -- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.