The John Batchelor Show
3,155 episodes — Page 10 of 64
S8 Ep1147: Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603–1689. This segment introduces James I, the first monarch to rule both England and Scotland, who faced a kingdom deeply divided by religion. It details the Gunpowder Plot of 1
Jul 20, 202611 min
S8 Ep1146: Matthew Longo, The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain. Thirty years after the event, Matthew Longo returns to the border to reflect on the legacy of the picnic and the nature of freedom. The site of the former "death
Jul 20, 20265 min
S8 Ep1146: Matthew Longo, The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain. As the picnic date of August 19, 1989, approaches, the atmosphere is "fraught" with tension. Thousands of East Germans (GDR) have flooded into Hungary, pretending to be on
Jul 20, 202613 min
S8 Ep1146: Matthew Longo, The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain. The focus shifts from political elites to young activists in the Hungarian "borderlands." In late June 1989, inspired by a speech from Otto von Habsburg, a young woman nam
Jul 20, 20267 min
S8 Ep1146: Matthew Longo, The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain. This segment focuses on the high-level political maneuvers that set the stage for the collapse of the Iron Curtain, beginning with a Warsaw Pact meeting on July 6, 1989. T
Jul 20, 202610 min
S8 Ep1146: Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. The final segment of Forrest's account explores the dark possibilities of Billy's fate and the FBI's high-level awareness of the case. While some contacts suggested Bill
Jul 20, 20265 min
S8 Ep1146: Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. In this segment, Forrest details his own investigation in Russia, aided by his personal history of living in Moscow and Kyiv for fifteen years. He teams up with Dmitri T
Jul 20, 202614 min
S8 Ep1146: Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. The story shifts to 2017 when Brett Forrest, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, receives a tip from Bob Foresman, an American financier with deep ties to the Russian a
Jul 20, 20266 min
S8 Ep1146: Brett Forrest, The Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI's Secret Wars. This segment introduces the core of the mystery surrounding Billy Riley, a young man from Oxford, Michigan, who disappeared after traveling to Russia in May 2015. Billy
Jul 20, 202611 min
S8 Ep1145: Jeremy Zakis updates listeners on the four magpie families that have reclaimed his property, peacefully coexisting with his dog, Dallas. He highlights the birds' advanced cognitive abilities, explaining how they recognize friendly humans and pass this gen
Jul 19, 20267 min
S8 Ep1144: Jeremy Zakis and John Batchelor explore the deep-rooted drinking culture in cricket, citing Ben Stokes' retirement and the legacy of Sir Garry Sobers. They also discuss the "death" of Bazball, an aggressive strategy that proved physically unsustainable an
Jul 19, 202611 min
S8 Ep1144: Jeremy Zakis recounts a dramatic incident where a 60-year-old cyclist in New South Wales accidentally rode over a six-foot eastern brown snake, which then became entangled in her bike's chain. Remarkably, the woman survived a "dry bite" without venom, ill
Jul 19, 202610 min
S8 Ep1144: Jeremy Zakis details Australia's preparations for a potential record-breaking "Super El Niño," which threatens to trigger extreme heat and devastating eucalyptus forest fires. Concurrently, John Batchelor reports on the severe smoke and air quality issues
Jul 19, 20267 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer concludes that after the war, Christie and Conwell-Evans published a limited-run book, None So Blind, detailing their ignored warnings to the government. Though Martin Gilbert later attempted to correct the record, these amateur spies la
Jul 19, 20268 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer recounts how, at the Nuremberg trials, Ribbentrop tried to use his pre-war Fellowship efforts as a defense, claiming he had always worked for peace. Göring remained unrepentant, while Hess insisted on wearing his flying boots in the witness
Jul 19, 202611 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer describes how, following the May 1940 retreat at Dunkirk, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, finally acting on the intelligence Christie had provided for years. The polemic Guilty Men was published, simplifying the blame for the war o
Jul 19, 20268 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer notes that even after war broke out in September 1939, the amateur spies remained active. The Kordt brothers planned to assassinate Hitler using a bomb from German military intelligence, but their plot was delayed by Georg Elser's independe
Jul 19, 20269 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer relates how, in the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook an incognito mission to meet Ribbentrop, hoping to find a path to peace. He returned with warnings that Hitler was focused on Poland and prepared for a ten-year war. While London
Jul 19, 20269 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer describes how, as 1939 began, the diplomatic situation worsened due to the catastrophic appointments of Henderson and Ribbentrop. Henderson, the "arch-appeaser," fed Chamberlain's natural tendencies and suppressed reports that might upset H
Jul 19, 202610 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer recounts how, by September 1938, the amateur spies learned of the Oster Conspiracy, a robust plan by German military and police units to arrest Hitler and prevent war. Spicer argues this was a credible arrangement that could have succeeded
Jul 19, 20266 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer describes how, during the 1937 coronation of George VI, Ribbentrop hosted a chaotic, overcrowded party at the German embassy. Despite the champagne-fueled festivities, the event was a social failure that highlighted the growing friction bet
Jul 19, 202611 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer explains that by late 1937, the Fellowship was being monitored by MI5 and penetrated by the NKVD. Soviet spy Kim Philby was even hired to manage the organization's PR, feeding information to Stalin, who feared an Anglo-German alliance again
Jul 19, 202610 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer describes how, during the 1937 coronation of George VI, Ribbentrop hosted a chaotic, overcrowded party at the German embassy. Despite the champagne-fueled festivities, the event was a social failure that highlighted the growing friction bet
Jul 19, 20269 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer relates how Ribbentrop arrived at Victoria Station as the new German ambassador with a mission to neutralize Britain through a show of friendship. However, his tenure was a disaster; he was socially clumsy, notoriously giving a Hitler salut
Jul 19, 20266 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer recounts how, in September 1936, Lloyd George met Hitler at the Berghof, where the dictator successfully charmed the aging statesman. Hitler was so delighted by the initial meeting that he invited Lloyd George's entourage, including his chi
Jul 19, 202611 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer describes the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a deceptive high point for Anglo-German relations. While Hitler sought a pact granting him control over Europe in exchange for British imperial security, Vansittart remained skeptical of Ribbentrop's in
Jul 19, 20267 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer introduces Grahame Christie, a decorated World War I flying ace and engineer who dedicated himself to warning Britain about German rearmament. Working with Robert Vansittart, Christie utilized his friendship with Hermann Göring to gather in
Jul 19, 202612 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer explains that by 1935, major business interests like Unilever joined the Fellowship to protect trade and understand the new German regime. Following the Night of the Long Knives, some optimists believed Hitler's government was becoming more
Jul 19, 20265 min
S8 Ep1143: Charles Spicer recounts how, in December 1934, Ernest Tennant, a businessman scarred by the horrors of the Great War, dined with Adolf Hitler and Joachim von Ribbentrop at the Reich Chancellery. At the time, Ribbentrop was a passionate Anglophile, and Ten
Jul 19, 202611 min
S8 Ep1142: SCHEDULE FOR THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 7-17-2026
Jul 18, 20269 min
S8 Ep1141: Lilla Nóra Kiss details how Tsinghua University serves as a conduit for laundering Chinese state technology and operations. She criticizes European regulators for viewing Chinese incursions through narrow "silos" like climate policy rather than recogniz
Jul 18, 20267 min
S8 Ep1141: Lilla Nóra Kiss warns about Nuctech, a Chinese-subsidized company dominating the European scanner market through predatory pricing. She highlights the security risks of allowing CCP-linked technology to handle sensitive border and cargo data, noting the c
Jul 18, 202611 min
S8 Ep1141: Henry Sokolski analyzes the "Golden Dome" project, suggesting its true value lies in achieving space superiority rather than just missile defense. He emphasizes the need for passive defenses, like redundant transformers and public preparedness, to counter
Jul 18, 20269 min
S8 Ep1141: Henry Sokolski discusses the security implications of a power outage at a US missile base, warning that electrical grids are now primary targets in "gray warfare." He notes that nations like Russia and Iran increasingly view civilian infrastructure as leg
Jul 18, 20268 min
S8 Ep1141: Henry Sokolski discusses the security implications of a power outage at a US missile base, warning that electrical grids are now primary targets in "gray warfare." He notes that nations like Russia and Iran increasingly view civilian infrastructure as leg
Jul 18, 20268 min
S8 Ep1141: Alan Mikhail describes how, as the English seized New Amsterdam in 1664, Anthony and Grietje transitioned into respectable property owners who aged into the colony's social fabric. Mikhail argues that these individuals, alongside long-resident enslaved fi
Jul 18, 202611 min
S8 Ep1141: Alan Mikhail examines Peter Stuyvesant's hardline enforcement of the Dutch Reformed Church, including the violent persecution of Quakers and anti-Semitic attempts to banish Jewish settlers. The segment highlights the 1657 Flushing Remonstrance as an early
Jul 18, 20266 min
S8 Ep1141: Alan Mikhail recounts the arrival of Anthony and Grietje in 1629 New Amsterdam, noting their resilience during Kieft's War. Despite being banished to Long Island and facing prejudice as "the Turk," they built a prosperous estate, with Grietje emerging as
Jul 18, 202611 min
S8 Ep1141: Bob Zimmerman reports on the discovery of organic sugar molecules in interstellar space and the identification of a new exoplanet shepherd at Beta Pictoris. He also discusses Katalyst's mission to rescue the Swift telescope and Perseverance's findings on
Jul 18, 20264 min
S8 Ep1141: Bob Zimmerman details SpaceX's launch abort for the Starship Super Heavy and the ongoing struggles of ULA. He highlights the $70 billion surge in private space investment, Amazon's expansion into South Africa, and Blue Origin's revised employee stock opti
Jul 18, 202615 min
S8 Ep1141: Lorenzo Fiori describes Italy's extreme heatwave, with temperatures reaching 122 degrees, followed by the threat of violent thunderstorms. For relief, he recommends Radicofani in Tuscany, showcasing its medieval fortress, world-class olive oil, and tradit
Jul 18, 20268 min
S8 Ep1141: Jim McTague reports on how Canadian wildfire smoke has stifled Lancaster County's tourist economy and created hazardous air quality. He also highlights rising gas prices and a local backlash against AI, where a borough rejected substantial revenue from a
Jul 18, 20268 min
S8 Ep1141: Richard Epstein discusses his book on birthright citizenship, challenging the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 14th Amendment. He addresses the phenomenon of "birth tourism," the status of foreign-raised US citizens, and the relative silence from lib
Jul 18, 20264 min
S8 Ep1141: Richard Epstein analyzes President Trump's recent address questioning the 2020 election results and its potential impact on the 2026 midterms. Epstein explores the constitutional difficulties of removing a president for lack of judgment, arguing that poli
Jul 18, 202614 min
S8 Ep1141: Jeff Bliss celebrates the anniversary of Disneyland's 1955 opening, sharing memories of working as a "Yodeler" on the Skyway ride. The conversation shifts to vintage Las Vegas and impending Southern California weather, including a tropical storm system ex
Jul 18, 20267 min
S8 Ep1141: Jeff Bliss discusses California's controversial "billionaire tax," an initiative designed to bridge the state budget gap that has prompted a significant wealth exodus to states like Texas. He also addresses Governor Newsom's shifting stance on wealth taxe
Jul 18, 202610 min
S8 Ep1140: SCHEDULE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 7-16-26 1948
Jul 17, 20266 min
S8 Ep1139: STREAMING THE MAKING OF THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, FEATURING SIMON CONSTABLE, 7-16-26. 1650
Jul 17, 20261h 1m
S8 Ep1138: Thomas Savidge proposes "Universal Savings Accounts" (USA) to replace complex government-managed savings vehicles. These accounts would grant individuals full ownership of their funds for unemployment or retirement. This reform aims to reduce fraud and
Jul 17, 20265 min
S8 Ep1138: Thomas Savidge explains how the 2020–2021 pandemic strained state unemployment insurance systems. While 31 states were solvent before the crisis, many struggled with improper payments and fraud due to relaxed federal eligibility requirements. Some states
Jul 17, 202613 min