Are old media doomed to be replaced by new media? Or is there more likely to be some sort of symbiosis?

Lots of people wonder about that, and we took the opportunity to talk with Angela Diegel and David Dunbar from Popular Mechanics when they came to town. Diegel is the magazine’s online director, while Dunbar is the Executive Editor. They say that print isn’t dead, but that magazines that are going to make it will make much smarter use of the web — and they relay their experience that putting free content on the Web helps to sell magazines, rather than cannibalizing sales.

You can listen directly by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player, or you can download the file directly by clicking right here. A lo-fi version suitable for dialup is available here. Better still, you can subscribe via iTunes, by clicking here.

Music, “Math and Bar Napkins,” is by The Opposable Thumbs. Recorded live on location using this digital recorder and this external microphone. I think the sound is awfully good.

This podcast is brought to you by VolvoCars.us — if you buy a Volvo, tell them it was all because of The Glenn and Helen Show!

The Democrats have taken the House and, it appears, the Senate. Donald Rumsfeld has resigned, to be replaced by Robert Gates. What’s next for the War on Terror and U.S. national security?

We talk to Jim Dunnigan, publisher of StrategyPage.com and author of numerous books on war, intelligence and security, and Austin Bay, who blogs at AustinBay.net, and who is the author of both novels and nonfiction works on war and military matters. They describe Rumsfeld’s legacy of military reform and warfighting, and talk about what’s coming next. Sounds like it’s not quite time to get fitted for a burka just yet. Plus: Now that the Democrats are in charge, will Charles Rangel bring back his proposal to reinstate the draft?

You can listen to this podcast — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the program by clicking right here. A lo-fi version suitable for dialup is available by going here and selecting the “lo fi” version. And you can always subscribe via iTunes, which is what all the cool kids do, by clicking right here. Show archives are here.

This podcast is brought to you by Volvo Cars US — if you buy a Volvo, tell ’em it’s all because of The Glenn And Helen Show.

UPDATE: The Mudville Gazette: “Listen twice.”

The American media have been obsessed with this week’s Congressional elections, but the foreign media have been just as interested. We caught up with Mark Little and Ken O’Shea of Irish TV’s “Primetime” — a show that’s a bit like our “Nightline” — to see what interests them about the American elections, and what has surprised them about their reporting. Plus, a look at the effect of American portion sizes on Irish waistlines.

You can listen directly — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file directly by clicking right here, or you can get a lo-fi version suitable for dialup by clicking here and selecting the lo-fi version. Better still, you can subscribe via iTunes by clicking here. As always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

Music is “Tom Brokaw,” by The French Broads.

This podcast is brought to you by VolvoCars.us — if you buy a Volvo, tell them that it was all because of this show!

And it was recorded with this digital recorder and this external microphone, which I think did a good job despite multiple talkers and lots of background noise.

Mark Warner looked to be the strongest Democratic contender for President in 2008 except for Hillary Clinton. We’d been slated to interview him when he decided not to run, but we thought that decision was interesting enough in its own right to justify an interview. We talk to Warner about his choice to bow out, about the state of politics today, and about what he’ll do next. We also discuss anti-terrorism, the Democrats’ problems with flyover country, and the importance of alternative energy, including nuclear power, to address oil pressure and greenhouse emissions. Plus, an interruption by Jimmy Carter!

You can listen to the show directly — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download it directly by clicking right here, and you can get a lo-fi version for dialup by clicking here and selecting lo-fi. Better still, you can subscribe via iTunes and get future episodes automatically.

You can see our show archives at GlennandHelenShow.com too. And, as always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

This podcast is brought to you by VolvoCars.us — if you buy a Volvo, tell them we sent you!

Music is by Mobius Dick.

Guns and gun control are a big issue as the 2006 elections loom. We talked with Dave Kopel, author of The Samurai, the Mountie, and the Cowboy: Should America Adopt the Gun Controls of Other Democracies?, Guns: Who Should Have Them?, and Gun Control and Gun Rights: A Reader and Guide. He’s also research director at the Independence Institute, and a regular blogger at The Volokh Conspiracy. (He’s also got a page with lots of gun information at DaveKopel.com).

Dave talks with us about violence and nonviolence, whether legalizing marijuana would cut down on gun crime, ways to prevent school shootings, questions of whether the right to keep and bear arms should be part of international law, and the likely impact of gun rights issues on the 2006 elections, and vice versa. Plus, discussion of which Second Amendment writers are “hotties.”

You can listen directly — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly right here. You can get a lo-fi version for dialup by going here and selecting “lofi,” and you can subscribe via iTunes by going here. Show archives and updates can be found at GlennandHelenShow.com.

This podcast is brought to you by VolvoCars.us. If you buy a Volvo, tell ’em it’s all because of this show!

Will there be a draft? How’s the Army doing in the Long War? No, and pretty well, according to Dr. Francis Harvey, Secretary of the Army, who notes that recruitment is at a 9-year high and that reenlistment is very strong. Harvey talks about the Army’s strength levels, force structure, equipment maintenance loads, and general ability to withstand the stress of the Long War against terrorism. In particular, he responds rather forcefully to claims that the Army is lowering standards to make its recruitment numbers. Plus, we hear about Helen’s brief dalliance with the Air Force, and how it may explain the Chinese Embassy bombing. . . .

You can listen to the show directly — no messy downloading — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly by clicking right here. You can get a lo-fi version suitable for dialup by going here and selecting “lo-fi.” If you’d like to sign up for the duration, you can subscribe via iTunes here, and you can see an archive of our past podcasts, and check for new ones, at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Music is “Superluminal,” by Mobius Dick.

This podcast is brought to you by VolvoCars.us. If you buy a Volvo, tell ’em we sent you!

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

Helen couldn’t make it — it was a bit late for her — but I caught up with milblogger Scott Koenig, better known as Smash, when he passed through Knoxville last week. Since he’s a celebrity blogger, I took along a portable recorder and managed to cadge an interview. Listen as Scott describes his part in the new milblogger book, The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, recounts his experience blogging from the war zone, and talks about his up-close encounters with antiwar protesters from Code Pink at Walter Reed Army Hospital. There’s even an audio excerpt of his somewhat Pattonesque bullhorn address to those protesters, which I’m sure they didn’t enjoy. But you may. Plus, Smash and I “fast” for peace!

Music, The World’s Unfair (Since 1982) is by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere, off their album “Knoxville Tells.”

You can stream the file — no downloads needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file directly by clicking right here, or get it in lo-fi suitable for dialup by going here and selecting “lo-fi.” You can subscribe via iTunes right here.

This podcast brought to you by VolvoCars.us. If you buy a Volvo, tell them we sent you!

Technical note: The interview was recorded with the Edirol R-09 that I mentioned earlier, and the CS-15 external microphone that I said I was ordering a while back. I think it turned out quite well, especially considering the noisy setting.

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

With the elections only a month away, we talk to John Fund, Wall Street Journal writer and author of Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy. Fund talks about high-tech problems with electronic voting machines, more mundane problems with ineligible voters and phony ballots, and the general slackness and incompetence that have made our voting system one that can only aspire to the high standards of Mexico.

You can listen directly — no downloading needed — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly by clicking right here. For a lo-fi version suitable for dialup, go here and click on “lo-fi.” And, of course, you can always subscribe via iTunes.

Music — “Oh, Just Have Some Faith in Me” — is by The Mr. T Experience.

This podcast brought to you by VolvoCars.us

As always, my lovely and talented co-host is taking comments and suggestions over at her place.

Michael Totten is an independent blog-journalist who has covered the Middle East with support from his blog readers. He’s reported from Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt — and he’s now planning another trip.

We talk to Michael about what he’s observed, and what it’s like to make a career-change from blogger to professional blog-journalist. Plus, reviews of Libyan restaurants!

You can listen directly, with no downloading needed, by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file by clicking right here, and you can get a lo-fi version for dialup by going here and clicking on “lo fi.” You can subscribe via iTunes by clicking here. And you can visit our show archives for previous episodes at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Podcasts brought to you by VolvoCars.us.

UPDATE: INDCJournal picks up some highlights. And I should have mentioned that my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments at her place.

Jim Geraghty talks with us about his new book, Voting to Kill: How 9/11 Launched the Era of Republican Leadership. Geraghty talks about “security voters,” the Democrats’ problems and what they can do to address them, and whether Hillary can save the Democratic Party. Plus, Bush’s own problems with his “war base.” (One thing that would help with the war base: “this maniac Al-Sadr, hanging from a lamppost.”)

You can play it through your browser with no downloading by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file by clicking right here, or get it in lo-fi format suitable for dialup right here. (Select “lo-fi”). You can subscribe via iTunes by clicking here.

Music by The Mr. T Experience.

The House and Senate have passed landmark legislation imposing transparency on earmarks in the appropriations process. The Senate is also looking at the John Bolton confirmation, and legislation aimed at trying terrorists before military tribunals.

We managed to catch up with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist this morning and talk about all of these subjects, Frist’s new Blogging for Bolton venture, and the joys of blogging and podcasting.

It’s shorter than usual — less than 20 minutes — but I think you’ll find it interesting.

You can listen directly without downloading by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download directly by clicking right here. A lo-fi version for dialup is available here, and you can subscribe via iTunes by clicking here.

Music is by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere, from their album Heartbreak and Duct Tape.

And here’s an editorial on the passage of the earmark-reform legislation.

UPDATE: The nice folks at eScribers sent us another free transcript. You can see it here.

If we can work out a deal, we’ll start doing this regularly.

With Senator Bill Frist retiring and leaving his seat open, Tennessee is one of the handful of states where Democrats have a chance of picking up a Senate seat this fall, making it crucial to Democratic efforts to recapture the Senate. (According to recent polls, it’s very close). Earlier this year we interviewed the Democratic candidate, Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., of Memphis.

Now we’ve got the other side of the story, with Republican candidate Bob Corker. Corker answers questions on Iraq, the war on terror, the Second Amendment, immigration, and more. Plus, questions about earmarks and pork!

You can listen directly — no download needed — by clicking right here and then clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly by clicking right here. A lo-fi version for dialup, etc., is available right here, and you can subscribe via iTunes here.

A complete archive of show episodes is available at GlennandHelenShow.com. And as usual, my lovely and talented cohost (and producer) is taking comments and suggestions.

Music is by The Opposable Thumbs.

UPDATE: A transcript of this interview is now available. Click “read more” to see it.

(more…)

Our podcast on divorce with lawyer Lauren Strange-Boston was popular enough that we thought we’d follow up with some non-legal issues relating to divorce. We talked to Russell Friedman, relationship expert and author of Moving On: Dump Your Relationship Baggage and Make Room for the Love of Your Life about, well, pretty much what the book title suggests. He offers a lot of good advice on dealing with divorces and breakups, and with relationships that you want to keep from facing a divorce or breakup, and when it’s best to pull the plug. (My favorite line: “You can’t love someone into mental health.”)

You can listen directly via your browser (no messy downloads needed) by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly by clicking right here, or get it in lo-fi here. You can subscribe via iTunes here.

A complete collection of past podcasts can be found at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Breakup-themed music by The Nevers.

With the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks coming up, we thought we’d talk to law professor and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, whose latest book, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency looks at terrorism, the Constitution, and issues of surveillance, civil liberties, and history. One quote: “Civil libertarians are in a state of denial.” Despite this sound-bite, though, his overall views are rather moderate even if not politically correct.

You can listen directly — no messy downloading — by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. Or you can download the file directly by clicking right here. There’s a lo-fi version here, and you can subscribe via iTunes here.

Surveillance-themed music by The Nevers.

UPDATE: Some comments here.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A summary of the main points here.

MORE: Glenn Greenwald says that Posner is being un-conservative by advocating “drastically expanded police powers.” Some things that Posner advocates in his book might fall within that category, though generally I think that’s something of an overstatement. As I note in the podcast, what’s interesting is that Posner’s advocating a “more European” approach to national security powers, which produces a left/right role reversal. Posner also makes the point that it’s interesting that the Supreme Court’s foreign-law enthusiasts don’t look to Europe as a model in these areas, as they do in the case of capital punishment.

Meanwhile, Allah characterizes this as an interview with God. Posner’s a god on the legal scene, but I wouldn’t call him God. Then again, who am I to argue about this stuff with a guy named Allah?

There’s also this depressing note: “There is something seriously wrong with this country when I have to download a random podcast to listen to an eminent scholar like Posner while cranks like Walt & Mearsheimer are hosting their talk at the National Press Club, televised on C-SPAN.” And JonBenet stories trump all!

But by “random podcast” I believe he meant “first-rate Internet audio production” . . . .

It’s all about the politics of food, and how food doesn’t track politics very well. We talk to Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why. and Rod Dreher, author of Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party). There’s a surprising degree of overlap, and we learn about how the Internet is revolutionizing small farming and how foodie impulses and back-to-the-land sentiments defy traditional political categories. Plus, the dangers of vegetarianism, the health benefits of beef and butter, and advice on how to shop healthy, and save money, even at ordinary grocery stores. And Helen spars with Rod Dreher in defense of libertarian hedonism.

You can download it directly by clicking right here, or you can subscribe via iTunes here. There’s a lo-fi version right here, and you can get all our podcasts at GlennandHelenShow.com. And if you’d like to stream it directly from your browser with no messy downloading, you can go here and click on the gray Flash player.

Music is “Myrtle Lee” and “Rough Skeleton,” by John T. Baker.

As usual, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

We talk to David Dunbar and Brad Reagan, editors of Popular Mechanics’ new book, Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts. But are we just part of the vast conspiracy? Listen and find out . . .

You can listen to the file directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes here. There’s a lo-fi version right here, and you can see an archive of previous podcasts at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Music — “You’re on the Hit List” — is by The Opposable Thumbs.

Browser-friendly flash player, here.

It’s another podcast full of war news, with Austin Bay and StrategyPage publisher, and author of many books, Jim Dunnigan. Bay and Dunnigan talk about terror plots being busted via electronic surveillance and confidential tips, Israelis in Lebanon, Ethiopians in Somalia, Iranians in Iraq, and what Montgomery Ward taught us about fighting terrorism, plus a look at events in Mexico. And Dunnigan has a lot to say about the utility of various surveillance programs used to identify terror networks.

You can download the file directly here (no iPod needed) or get a lo-fi version here. There’s a complete show archive at GlennandHelenShow.com, too.

Music is by 46 Long.

And, as always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

UPDATE: Allah excerpts a bit.

Are America’s kids too fat? Yes! And what can — and should — we be doing about it? We talk to Dr. Michael Zemel of the University of Tennessee Nutrition Institute, and the UT Medical School, and author of The Calcium Key : The Revolutionary Diet Discovery That Will Help You Lose Weight Faster. about this issue. Are the food police coming?

Zemel also has more information on overweight kids at www.americaonthemove.org.

But first, beer! We visited a microbrewery and talked with Master Brewer Al Kruzen and his apprentice brewer Joey Barbarito about the way the brewing industry has changed, how — in a fashion discussed elsewhere — homebrewers changed the industry and are now finding employment in its ranks, and what a brewery and pub can do for a downtown neighborhood. Plus, advice on how to get a job in microbrewing! The interviews were all recorded on location using this Edirol recorder. You can judge the quality for yourself; I think it turned out pretty well given the degree of background noise, etc.

You can subscribe via iTunes by clicking here. If you’d rather, you can download the file directly here, or get a lo-fi version for dialup here. And don’t miss our archive of previous podcasts at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Music is by The Opposable Thumbs.

And, as always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

WE TALKED WITH JOHN MCCAIN, Republican Senator from Arizona and likely 2008 Presidential candidate, about a variety of hot button topics: Immigration (which got a pretty lengthy treatment), the Second Amendment, blogs and campaign finance reform, leaks from the CIA and other intelligence agencies and, of course, earmarks and PorkBusters.

Helen also asked him about rumors that he’s considering Condi Rice or Jeb Bush as a 2008 running mate, and whether he’d support federal legislation banning gun confiscation of the sort that happened in New Orleans after Katrina.

You can listen directly by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes. There’s a low-fidelity version for dialup users right here, and an archive of all our podcasts is at GlennandHelenShow.com.

Music is “Status No” by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere, from their album Heartbreak and Duct Tape.

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions.

UPDATE: Comments on the interview from Jim Geraghty and Daniel Glover.

LONG TAIL RADIO! We interviewed Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, about his new book, The Long Tail : Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, a book that I liked a lot and that has a pretty strong Army of Davids resonance in places.

Anderson talks about how the future is going to be oriented more toward smaller markets, individuals, and cottage industry. He also stresses that, notwithstanding some reviews, he’s not proclaiming the end of hit movies, hit records, or big businesses, just a different kind of market running alongside the old fashioned one. Plus, we talk about non-monetary incentives, how many people will nonetheless manage to make money in niche markets, and how little it takes to be branded a techno-utopian Pollyanna type these days. Also, why blogging is like DJ-ing!

You can listen to the podcast directly — no iPod needed — by clicking right here. You can subscribe via iTunes here, there’s a lo-fi version for dialup here, and there’s a complete podcast archive at GlennandHelenShow.com.

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions.

Music is by The Opposable Thumbs.

UPDATE: Chris Anderson says the podcast bumped him into the Amazon Top 10. He probably exaggerates our influence but I’m glad the book is doing well; it’s good.

It’s another podcast — this one featuring blogger and author Austin Bay and StrategyPage publisher, and author of many books, Jim Dunnigan.

Austin and Jim talk about North Korean missiles, the diplomatic strains between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, and the United States, the extent of cooperation between North Korea and Iran, and more. They also talk about terrorist plots in the United States, events in Iraq, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

You can listen directly by clicking right here (no iPod needed) or you can get it via iTunes here. There’s a lo-fi version for dialup here, and an archive of all our podcasts is available at GlennandHelenShow.com.

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

We talked with Andy Kessler, author of The End of Medicine: How Silicon Valley (and Naked Mice) will Reboot Your Doctor, about how Moore’s Law will revolutionize medicine. Kessler explained how more and more of medicine is driven by technology, and how dramatic changes in electronics, DNA chips, and treatment are likely to make medicine improve as much in coming decades as computers have improved in the past several decades. Helen and I — but especially Helen — say “bring it on!”

You can listen directly (no iPod needed) by clicking right here, or you can subscribe via iTunes (we like that, because it moves us up their charts) by clicking right here. There’s a lo-fi version for dialup here, and there’s a complete podcast archive here.

Music is by Mobius Dick — it’s excerpts from the soundtrack to the movie Six.

As usual, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions.

We’re podcasting from the eye of the storm. Er, or we would be, if it had an eye. Anyway, it’s a spur-of-the-moment podcast from the vicinity of Apalachicola, Florida, where we’ve tried to equal the Big Media folks in hurricane hysteria. (Besides, it was still a bit too chilly for the beach this morning). You can listen right here if you want to see how we did. You can get it on iTunes by clicking right here, and there’s a lo-fi version for dialup right here.

The sun’s coming out now, so we’ll be on the beach soon. Let’s hope that all of this year’s storm news amounts to as little.

As usual, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments.

UPDATE: Yes, this whole thing was done with this Olympus digital recorder that I reviewed for Gizmodo a while back. Just copied the files over into the laptop, strung ’em together with Acid, and uploaded them. Quick and dirty — which is all this deserves. . . .

It’s not the movie, but an episode of The Glenn and Helen Show about divorce.

We interview family/divorce lawyer Lauren Strange-Boston about aspects of pre-marriage, marriage, divorce, and post-divorce life from a legal perspective. She talks about everything from common marriage mistakes to pre-nuptial agreements and custody battles, with lots of interesting insights. She and Helen also talk about issues and concerns of particular interest to men.

You can listen directly (no iPod needed) by clicking right here, or you can subscribe via iTunes (we like that since it helps us on the charts). There’s an archive of past podcasts here, and you can get a lo-fi version for dialup right here.

Hope you like it — and that you don’t need the divorce advice part! But if you do, I think you’ll find it useful.

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions.

We talked to James Lileks, author of Mommy Knows Worst : Highlights from the Golden Age of Bad Parenting Advice, and blogger and frequent reporter on the “Mommy Wars” Cathy Seipp about parenting, how it’s changed since the mid-twentieth century, and where things might be going in the future. As you might imagine, both James and Cathy had lots to say on the subject.

You can listen directly by clicking right here (no iPod needed!) or you can subscribe via iTunes here (we like it when you do that). A low-fi version can be found here, and an archive of previous podcasts is here.

Hope you like it! Music is by The Nebraska Guitar Militia (“69365) and Todd Steed and the Sons of Phere (“IWDWIST”).

As always, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions.