We talked with Peter Beinart, New Republic editor and author of The Good Fight : Why Liberals—and Only Liberals—Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again. Beinart talks about Cold War liberalism, how the left abandoned anti-communism and anti-totalitarianism in the 1960s, and what people on the Left need to do now to deal with the threat of Islamic Jihadism. We also talked about Iran, Democratic opposition to Hillary Clinton, Al Gore’s prospects, and the likelihood of a third party challenge in 2008.

You can listen directly by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes here (we like it when you subscribe on iTunes, as it boosts our rank on their charts). There’s an archive of past podcasts here, and lo-fi versions, suitable for dialup, are here.

Music is by Mobius Dick. And, as always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

This week we interview Mary Cheney about her new book, Now It’s My Turn: A Daughter’s Chronicle of Political Life. And, unlike some people, we actually spend most of our time talking about the non-gay parts! And, shockingly, that’s actually most of the book. Who knew?

Among other things, Mary Cheney talks about her dad’s heart attack (he had his first at the same age that Helen had her heart attack), about the role of blogs and alternative media in the 2004, 2006 and 2008 campaigns, whether folks in the White House have lost touch with the base and what they should do about it, how to get started in a political campaign, and more.

You can listen directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here, or you can subscribe via iTunes here (we like that, as it pushes us up the iTunes charts). There’s a lo-fi version for dialup here, and you can see a complete archive of podcasts here.

Music is by The Opposable Thumbs. I think you’ll find the audio on this podcast significantly improved, thanks to a new studio setup and a new digital phone box.

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

Okay, a while back I was skeptical of Seth Roberts’ new book, The Shangri-La Diet: The No-Hunger, Eat Anything Weight Loss Plan. Most diets don’t work, and this one sounded particularly oversold. Lots of folks emailed that they like it, though, and Helen was interested, so we decided to look him up and see what he had to say about it. Can you really lose weight with a little bit of sugar-water or olive oil?

It’s an interesting approach — though my two-week test-drive hasn’t seemed to do much — and he has some useful thoughts on societal attitudes and behaviors regarding food and fatness in general. Plus, Helen — a Weight Watchers expert — has some insights of her own.

You can listen to the interview directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here, or you can subscribe via iTunes (we like that).

There’s an archive of previous podcasts here.

Music is by Audra and the Antidote.

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

It’s a roundup of Republican problems and solutions in today’s Glenn and Helen Show. First, we talk to Ken Mehlman, chair of the Republican National Committee, about polls, anger in the base, and issues like immigration, spending, taxes, and judges. We pressed Mehlman pretty hard, and I think it’s fair to say that he realizes that action is more important than rhetoric if the GOP is to win back the base before November. Whether he and the White House can deliver on that, especially in the face of the Senate Republicans’ foot-dragging, is another question.

Given all the dissatisfaction, especially over immigration, we also talked with Michael Barone, blogger, columnist, and editor of The Almanac of American Politics, about the prospects for a third-party candidate in 2008. Barone is interesting as always.

I hope you enjoy them both. You can listen to the program by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes here (we like it when you subscribe). A low-fi episode, suitable for dialup, etc., is available here, and there’s an archive of previous podcasts right here.

Hope you like it. As always, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments.

UPDATE: This piece by Dick Meyer at CBS connects with the above, especially the Barone discussion. I don’t think that Mayor Bloomberg is a credible third-party candidate, though.

ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader who claims inside knowledge says that Bloomberg plans to run, and is already making preparations for a third-party campaign. I don’t know any more than that, though. Despite his nominally Republican status, I’d expect him to draw more votes from Democrats, but I could be wrong about that.

We’re up to #4 on the iTunes politics charts, putting us just ahead of Sean Hannity. That’s not bad.

LATER: We’re now #3, beating out Stephanopoulos, too. Well, we’re certainly doing it on a smaller budget.

We talk to Jim Meigs of Popular Mechanics about alternative fuels, and Henry Copeland of Blogads.com about the new Blogads reader survey and the future of the blogosphere.

Popular Mechanics has just published an extensive look at alternative fuels like ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, and hydrogen (you can see the article here), and we had Editor-in-Chief Jim Meigs on to talk about what they found, and what the prospects are for getting away from gasoline — and for the political system’s getting rational about energy and fuel.

We also talk with Henry Copeland of Blogads.com about the future of the blogosphere. Blogads has just released the results of their survey on blog readers, and Henry talks about the results, the blog-advertising business, whether the blogosphere is too commercialized, and what’s likely to come next. Ads on podcasts? Who knows?

You can listen directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes. There’s an archive of previous podcasts here, and you can get a low-fi version suitable for dialup here.

Music — appropriate for both biofuels and blog advertising — is Audra and the Antidote’s “Sugar Daddy,” available for download here.

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

I’m interested in the Singularity, and I’m a big fan of Vernor Vinge’s. He’s got a new book out next week called Rainbows End, set in 2025, and as I’ve mentioned before it’s pretty much an Army of Davids kind of world. He’s also the author of such previous classics as A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky.

We talk to him about the Singularity — and how it may come from the superhuman “ensemble behavior” of ordinary humans with powerful computers linked via the Internet rather than through the development of superhuman artificial intelligence — about signposts indicating how we’re doing, about humanity’s prospects for utopia or extinction, and related minor issues. We also discussed writing science fiction (the secret, he says, is “brain parasitism,” taking advantage of readers’ smarts), whether college is becoming obsolete, mind uploading, and the joys (or lack thereof) of virtual-reality sex, a question that perplexes Helen.

You can listen directly (no iPod needed) by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes. (We’d like it if you’d actually subscribe on iTunes, as that’s what pushes us up the charts there). There’s also an archive of previous podcasts here, and you can get this — and other — podcasts in a low-fi dialup version here.

Hope you liked it! Music is “Indistinguishable from Magic” and “Robosexual” by Mobius Dick.

Once again, my lovely and talented cohost is soliciting comments and suggestions for future episodes.

UPDATE: Vinge emails: “Wow! Such fast ‘time to press’ is a nice commentary on our times all by itself.”

We interview blogger Michael Totten, who spent the last six months covering Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq for his blog, with support from his blog readers. He talks about what he saw, how well the reader-support model works, and what he sees in the region’s future.

We also talk to StrategyPage publisher Jim Dunnigan, author of numerous books on military matters, and columnist/blogger Austin Bay, who’s also the author of The Wrong Side of Brightness, a novel, and who has another novel coming out soon. They talk about China’s military and political ambitions, the progress of events in Iraq, and what to do — and what, apparently, we’re already doing rather quietly — about Iran. (There’s also some discussion of the much-touted Iranian “EMP bomb” threat.)

As always, it’s a must-listen. You can click right here to listen to it directly, or you can get it via iTunes here.

There’s an archive of previous podcasts here, and lo-fi versions for dialup are available here.

Hope you like it. My lovely and talented co-host is, as always, taking comments and suggestions for future episodes.

Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. is running for Senate in Tennessee, and his bus tour took him right past our house. He stopped by for a rare in-studio interview (since we usually do these by phone), and talked about Iraq, Iran, alternative energy, ANWR drilling and nuclear power, gun rights, immigration (he supports the Sensenbrenner bill, and explains why), health care, and more. Including, of course, PorkBusters.

I found it a very interesting interview. We’re not on the same page on some issues (I think he’s overoptimistic, to put it mildly, about the amount of cooperation we can expect from Russia and China on Iran), but we agree on some others (including the pork). He’s a smart guy, and I found him less polished-and-packaged than I’d anticipated; it’s easy to see why people expect him to have a big future in politics.

Helen liked the bus, and we sent Rep. Ford off with some reading material to help him pass the hours on the road.

You can listen to the interview directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here. You can also get it via iTunes.

You can get a low-fi version, suitable for dialup, cellphones, etc. here, and there’s an archive of all our previous podcasts here.

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

Music is by Mobius Dick.

We managed to catch up with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist this morning, and talked to him about immigration — both legal and illegal — whether the issue will split the Republican party, and what he thinks about Trent Lott’s remarks on PorkBusters, and about pork generally.

It’s shorter than our usual interview, as he only had about 10 minutes this morning (things are kind of busy in the Senate) but I think you’ll find it worth listening to.

You can listen directly by clicking here (no iPod needed!) or you can get it here via iTunes. A low-fi version for dialup is available here, and, of course, there’s an archive of all our previous podcasts here.

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

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

It’s all about kidney donation, and organ donation policy, with Virginia Postrel. Virginia is the author of books like The Substance of Style and The Future and Its Enemies. Kidney recipient Sally Satel has written a book with Christina Hoff Sommers, One Nation Under Therapy : How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-Reliance and PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine. Virginia talks about what it’s like to donate a kidney, what’s wrong with organ-donation policy and how to fix it, and how some people wonder why a libertarian would do something actually generous.

Click here to listen directly (no iPod needed!) or you can get it here via iTunes.

There’s an archive of previous podcasts here, and a collection of low-fi versions for dialup here. Hope you like it! As always, my lovely and talented cohost is taking comments and suggestions.

It’s a podcast about Israel and blog carnivals. You wouldn’t think the two are connected, but that’s because you don’t know about the nude bodypainting. Or — well, just listen. Sharon Stone appears, briefly.

First we talk to Israeli ambassador Daniel Ayalon about the Palestinians, the European Union, Iranian nuclear weapons and the prospects for another Osirak-style raid, and American attitudes toward Israel. Then we interview BlogCarnival.com founder Brad Rubenstein about the mushrooming growth of blog carnivals, and get his tips for carnival submitters, organizers, and readers.

Anyway, it’s a surprisingly, er, festive podcast, and we hope you like it!

You can listen directly by clicking right here, or you can get it here via iTunes.

There’s an archive of previous episodes here. There’s also an archive of low-bandwidth versions for dialup users, etc., available here.

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

Is psychology over-politicized? We interview Dr. Nicholas Cummings, a past President of the American Psychological Association, and coauthor of Destructive Trends in Mental Health: The Well-Intentioned Path to Harm, about the injection of politics into mental health in general, and the American Psychological Association in particular. Plus, why men are disappearing from the psychological profession.

You can listen to the podcast directly (no iPod needed!) by clicking right here, or you can get it via iTunes right here.

There’s an archive of previous episodes here. There’s also an archive of low-bandwidth versions for dialup users, etc., available here.

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

This time we interview cardiologist Dr. Wes Fisher, and Laurie Anderson of WebMD, about heart attacks, heart attack prevention, and the latest information on cardiac health. Also, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Stewart Baker talks about the Dubai Ports deal, and comments on some port security suggestions from Frank J.

The heart stuff is near and dear to our, er, hearts, since Helen had a heart attack six years ago and now sports an implantable pacemaker/defibrillator. We learn how men and women differ in this area, what the latest research suggests about diet, exercise, and supplements like CoEnzyme Q10, Folic Acid, etc. Our guests also answer some questions from Helen’s blog readers about heart health and coping with the aftermath of heart attacks. It turns out that women as young as 18 years old can be at risk for heart attacks, and that traditional medical tests often miss those. (Dr. Fisher also sells medical t-shirts, like the one worn by Helen in the picture at right, at Medtees.com).

Stewart Baker is the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. He talks about the Dubai Ports deal, and the security issues involved. He also responds to some comments from Jim Dunnigan and Austin Bay on previous podcasts, and comments on blogger Frank J. Fleming’s suggestions on ways to improve port security. Hey, if you want to think outside the box, there’s no better place to start than Frank J. — he lives outside the box.

Anyway, you can listen directly by clicking here (no iPod needed!) or you can get it via iTunes here.

There’s also a podcast archive here, and lo-fi versions suitable for dialup are here.

As always, my lovely and talented co-host is taking suggestions and comments.

Music is from “Suitcase and a Gun,” by the Nebraska Guitar Militia, off the album Four Pickups of the Apocalypse.