Tell Somebody

As Professor Robert McChesney put it: “ I think at this point the idea that American journalism is in a deep, profound and existential crisis is almost passe. I think what is less well understood is that such a collapse of journalism is also a crisis for democracy. Self government cannot work without an informed citizenry, and that can’t work without journalism.” What is the journalism situation in the U.S.?  How does our 'free' press compare with those in other countries?  What are some possible solutions? The May 24, 2011 edition of Tell Somebody features the remarks of host Tell Somebody as presented to The Community of Reason in Kansas City Missouri on Easter Sunday 2011. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any probl

The February 1, 2011 edition of Tell Somebody featured a conversation about media reform with board members of Friends of Community Media, a Kansas City area 501c3 media reform group. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.     If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

The January 25, 2011 edition of Tell Somebody looks at last year's Citizens United v FEC decision, and an upcoming decision on the question of whether corporations should have "personal privacy" rights under the Freedom of Information Act.  We hear audio from a Public Citizen press conference on the Citizens United anniversary and an explanation of the AT&T case from Public Citizen attorney Adina Rosenbaum, followed by some audio of the actual arguments.  In the news, Kansas City police raid a homeless camp, and a union officer representing workers at the Kansas City nuclear weapons parts plant warns of a possible work stoppage because of Honeywell's anti-union attitude that has workers afraid to report safety violations in the plant.   Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

The January 18, 2011 edition of Tell Somebody features Jeremy Alderson, founder and host of The Homelessness Marathon explaining the upcoming national broadcast originating on KKFI in Kansas City, a conversation on the media climate in the wake of Tuscon with Sue Wilson, director of the documentary film Broadcast Blues and editor of SueWilsonreports.com  and a report from the January 13 meeting of the Community Advisory Panel for the Bannister Federal Complex, current home of the Kansas City nuclear weapons parts plant responsible for 85% of the non-nuclear components of U.S. nuclear weapons.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

The January 11, 2011 edition of Tell Somebody starts out with excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King's 1967 speech Beyond Vietnam where he reminds us that there is such a thing as "too late."  Bannister Federal Complex worker Barbara Rice recalls the results when she started emailing friends and compiling a list of co-workers from the complex who had serious illnesses, and then we hear some audio from a town hall for sick Bannister Federal complex workers and survivors, including comments from Ron Elmlinger of Cold War Soldiers and Donna Hand and Wayne Knox of Cold War Patriots.  Former Kansas City Plant worker Maurice Copeland recalls his work at the weapons plant, and then we hear an excerpt from a Tuscon press conference the day after the shootings at Gabrielle Giffords' "Congress on your corner" town hall. If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us   Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to t

On the January 4, 2011, we continued a look back at the year on Tell Somebody.  Nuclear Watch New Mexcio director Jay Coghlan on how President Obama got rolled by Republicans on the START Treaty, Michelle Obama speaks to the NAACP in Kansas City, Ray McGovern on media coverage of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara, arrests at the Kansas City nuclear weapons plant, the Marching Monahan Brothers oppose the Citizens United decision, then end of the internet as we know it, and much more on this show. If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us   Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

On the last edition of the show in 2010, we started a look back at the year on Tell Somebody.  Starting with a January guest host we heard excerpts from shows airing in first part of the year, ending with the June 22, 2010 show with Dr. Helen Caldicott telling us a fascinating story about how Patti Davis asked Caldicott to talk about nuclear weapons to her father, Ronald Reagan. If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

On Thursday December 16, 2010, Daniel Ellsberg, FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin, physician Margaret Flowers, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and others joined Veterans for Peace in a protest in front of the White House.  131 chose to be arrested. The December 21 edition of Tell Somebody featured Ray McGovern recounting the days events and giving some of his thoughts about Wikileaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. The photo here of Coleen Rowley and Ray McGovern was taken by Cheryl Biren and appears courtesy of www.opednews.com. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

The December 14, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody features a conversation with journalist Robert Parry. Robert Parry covered Washington for more than three decades for news organizations including the Associated Press and Newsweek, led the way in exposing the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s (as well as breaking stories on contra-cocaine trafficking, the Iraq-gate scandal and the October Surprise controversy regarding Republican misconduct in Election 1980). But he couldn’t abide a mainstream U.S. news media that increasingly shied away from telling difficult truths. He refused to play the career games to get ahead. In 1995, Parry started the first Internet investigative magazine, Consortiumnews.com, to create a home for well-reported journalism that defied Washington’s timorous and vapid “conventional wisdom.” For 14 years, the Web site has delivered consistently high-quality articles on important topics to millions of readers around the world. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to liste

The December 7, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody featured the speech given by Bill Moyers at the June, 2008 National Conference on Media Reform put on by Free Press.  The fifth National Conference on Media Reform is set for April 8-10, 2011 in Boston. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

The November 30, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody has a report from the November 27th Survival 10 event for the homeless put on by Richard Tripp's COPPINC at the new Hope Faith Ministries facility in Kansas City, and an interview with Kansas City activist Bill Doulgas on his novel 2012 The Awakening and a lot more. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

The November 23, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody featured an audio visit to the new home of Hope Faith Ministries, a day center in Kansas City for the homeless, on the day of their grand opening.  Hope Faith Ministries is hosting Care of Poor People's Survival 10 event, as well as the national broadcast of the Homelessness Marathon, coming in February. We had a word with Hope Faith Ministries executive director Desiree Monize, and with Care of Poor People director Richard Tripp.  All that and more on this week's show. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

The November 16, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody featured an excerpt of former Green Party Presidential nominee David Cobb's November 14th Kansas City speech on the Move to Amend the Constitution to overturn "corporate personhood."  But first, some background on corporate personhood and the Citizens United v FEC Supreme Court decision from author and radio host Thom Hartmann, Public Citizen's Craig Holman, and more.  The show ends with Robin Monahan of the Marching Monahans - www.lairdandrobin.org - giving an account of the completion of their walk from California to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  If you have any comments or questions about the show or any problems accessing the files, send an email to: mail@tellsomebody.us

On this edition of Tell Somebody, Scott Dye, Director of Sierra Club Water Sentinels talks about pollution at the Bannister Federal Complex, and a report from the GSA press briefing about a Review of Health and Safety Conditions at the Bannister Federal Complex, Kansas City Missouri, issued November 8, 2010 by the Office of Inspector General, General Services Administration.  The report is highly critical of GSA's Public Buildings Service with one section headed "Incorrect and Misleading Information, Inadequate File Documentation, and Possible Non-Compliance with CERCLA Reporting Requirements Damage GSA's Credibility."  Scott Dye interview, audio from press briefing with GSA's Regional Administrator Jason Klumb and much more. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

This edition of Tell Somebody features Donna Hand, vice president of Cold War Soldiers, explaining some of the intricacies  of filing claims with the federal government for health problems resulting from exposure to toxic substances at the Kansas City nuclear weapons parts plant.  There is also a bit of election day commentary. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory. 

On Wednesday, October 20, 2010, Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, and Deepak Gupta, Public Citizen attorney held a telephone press briefing to provide background on the argument in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Nov. 9. The court will decide whether companies can deny consumers and employees the right to band together through class actions to fight fraud, discrimination and other illegal practices. AT&T argues that the courts must enforce the fine print of its contracts that ban class actions. Public Citizen attorney Deepak Gupta will argue before the court on behalf of consumers, claiming that the contracts are unconscionable and unenforceable.   Tell Somebody was on the phone. Also on October 20th, an agency of the Department of Labor held a town hall meeting about filing claims for workers who have health problems from working at the Kansas City nuclear weapons parts plant. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the s

On the October 19, 2010 edition of Tell Somebody, Dorothy Witherspoon, Ph.D., Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau and Rebecca Bradley, U.S. Army veteran and Minority Veterans Coordinator, Missouri Veterans Commission came into the KKFI studios to talk about a free "Mini-Retreat & Stand-down" to take place 8am to 3pm on Saturday, October 23, 2010 at Penn Valley Community College Campus in Kansas City, MO for all women veterans and active duty military women and their families. Also on this show, a telephone conversation with Minneapolis peace activist Sarah Martin talking about FBI raids and grand jury subpoenas last month in Minneapolis and Chicago. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  Sents comments or questions to mail@tellsomebody.us  

Collective Progression is a project devoted to collaboration, produced by Russell Anderson and Mandy Hancock, who hail from Georgia and stopped in Kansas City as part of a 12,000 mile tour of the country.  On this edition of Tell Somebody, they'll explain what they're up to. But first, a remembrance of former U.S. Congresswoman Karen McCarthy who died on October 5, 2010 at the age of 63.  McCarthy was in the minority in Congress who had the courage to vote "no" on the October, 2002 joint resolution that led to the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. And, a trial for the 'trespassers' arrested last August at the site of the new city-owned nuclear weapons parts plant in Kansas City reveals yet another connection to the Kansas City Economic Development Corporation. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or

A so-called Community Advisory Panel was formed to look at issues related to the old Kansas City nuclear weapons parts plant, but most of the "community" is connected to the Economic Development Corporation. Supreme Court Justices impersonators, some appropriately covered in corporate logos, come to the country club plaza in Kansas City to give a history leading up to the Citizens United 'corporate personhood' decision. Finally, Richard Tripp, founder of www.coppinc.com, comes to the studio to ask for help in his November help the homeless event.

An appeal to support community radio, former FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley on FBI raids on peace activists in Minneapolis, and Robert Parry of www.consortiumnews.com on independent media. Click on the the pod icon above or the .mp3 filename below to listen to the show, or right-click and choose save target as to save a copy of the audio file to your computer.  You can also subscribe to the podcast, for free, at the iTunes store or your podcast directory.  Sents comments or questions to mail@tellsomebody.us