Economist, professor and author Paul Rubin joins Tim to talk about the impact of socialism on the future, particularly among young people who tend to be the most supportive of it, but who stand to lose the most because of it. This is the focus of his new book called, “A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives.” This episode was first released January 4, 2021. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/157_-_What_They_Wont_Tell_You_About_Socialism.mp3 If you want to see where socialism has been tried and failed, you don’t have to look far. Venezuela is one current-day example. The country sits on one of the world’s largest deposits of oil, yet people in that country have to wait in long lines for gas, the prices for gas are high and the quality of life is among the lowest in the world. Or, you could look toward history, from the Soviet Union, to Cuba, to countries from Eastern Europe to South America and Africa. The examples of socialist failure are many.  But if you look for examples of where socialism has been successful, you can look, but you won’t find many if any. The effects of socialism aren’t just a poor standard of living, but massive human misery, that history has shown, has led to the establishment of dictators and small rich oligarchies who rule the masses under the thumb of socialism. At the same time, the concepts of socialism have long had a certain appeal to young people and oppressed peoples. Socialism has a certain seductive quality for some. Paul Rubin has spent decades teaching young generations about basic economic principles, and has spent no small amount of time educating young people on the risks of socialism. Links A Student’s Guide to Socialism: How it will trash your lives, by Paul Rubin (Amazon) Paul Rubin, The Independent Institute How are socialism and communism different?, History.com Capitalism v. Socialism, PragerU.com About this Episode’s Guest Paul Rubin Paul H. Rubin is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Emeritus in the Economics Department of Emory University and a former Professor of Law and Economics at the School of Law. He served as editor-in-chief of Managerial and Decision Economics. In addition, he is associated with the Mont Peleron Society, the Independent Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute, and a Fellow of the Public Choice Society and former President of the Southern Economics Association. Professor Rubin was Senior Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan, Chief Economist at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Director of Advertising Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, and Vice-President of Glassman-Oliver Economic Consultants, Inc., a litigation consulting firm in Washington. He has taught economics at the University of Georgia, City University of New York, VPI, and law and economics at George Washington University Law School. Professor Rubin has written or edited several books, and has published over one hundred articles and chapters on economics, law, and regulation. Much of Professor Rubin’s writing is in law and economics, with a focus on tort, crime and contract issues. His areas of research interest include law and economics, industrial organization, transaction cost economics, government and business, public choice, regulation and price theory, and evolution and economics. His work has been cited in the professional literature over 11,100 times. He has consulted widely on litigation related matters, and has addressed numerous business, professional, policy and academic audiences. He has testified three times before Congress, and has served as an advisor on tort issues to the Congressional Budget Office. Professor Rubin is the author of the well-known paper “Why Is the Common Law efficient?” Journal of Legal Studies, 1977, which has been reprinted eight times, in English, Spanish and French. B.A. 1963,

This is a Special Edition of the Shaping Opinion Podcast called “1979: City of Champions.” In this extended episode (90 minutes), we take you to when Pittsburgh became the “City of Champions,” and how its impact went well beyond the field, or just baseball or football fans. In the end, it’s about what sports can do to bolster an entire people who are going through hard times. Guests include: Kent Tekulve, Joe Gordon, Lanny Frattare, Michael MacCambridge, John Steigerwald and Walter Iooss, Jr. This is the story of Pittsburgh, City of Champions, like you've never heard it before. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Full_Episode_-_City_of_Champions_auphonic.mp3 In this episode, we start with a group of Pittsburgh steelworkers who are standing around waiting for the arrival of two Pittsburgh sports icons. They stand in the cold and drafty Jones and Laughlin steel mill along the banks of the Monongahela River. The smoke stack above their building belches out thick black smoke. The stack next to it literally belches out fire. The air around the mill is thick with the smell of burning sulfur. If you’re one of the kids at the playground on the bluff above that mill in South Oakland, you’re at eye level with the top of those stacks and you can see that fire. You can see that smoke pouring out, and the air smells like rotten eggs.  You can’t avoid it. Down below, the guests of honor have arrived. They are both co-honorees - named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsmen of the Year. Willie Stargell of the World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates and Terry Bradshaw, of the three-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. About 15 steelworkers, clad in their green and gray mill uniforms, where hard hats and safety glasses, and they crowd around Stargell and Bradshaw, who are in their own work uniforms. Instantly, these tough and grizzled veterans of the mill become boyish football fans when the two baseball and football stars come in. Not much is getting done around the mill right now. With them is another legend. The photographer. But not just any photographer. He’s a GOAT in his own right. Walter Iooss, Jr. is Sports Illustrated’s best ever. Ever see that photo of Joe Namath predicting a Jets Super Bowl win at pool side? That was Walter. What about the shot of Joe Montana throwing to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship game, the one they called, “The Catch?” That was Walter, too. From Tiger Woods to Michael Jordan, to the iconic Swimsuit editions. If you can conjure up an iconic sports or swimsuit image in your mind, there’s a good chance Walter captured it for you. And here he is, lighting the floor of a steel mill to take a shot that would soon become iconic in its own right. Willie Stargell in his World Series champion uniform. Gold shirt with black pants. Next to him, Terry Bradshaw in his Super Bowl champion uniform, that classic black shirt with boxed numbers and gold pants. Surrounding them are those steelworkers. Walter told me there really wasn’t much to setting up the shot, but what it stood for, well, that was something else. Welcome to 1979 and Pittsburgh, The City of Champions. In this episode we take you through, chronologically, the year Pittsburgh became the City of Champions, along with stories, insights, and what it all came to mean. Guests Lanny Frattare Joe Gordon Walter Iooss, Jr. John Steigerwald Kent Tekulve Michael MacCambridge Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated and Walter Iooss, Jr. Links Two Champs from the “City of Champions,” Sports Illustrated 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL.com 1979 World Series, MLB.com Kent Tekulve, MLB.com Steelers PR Maven Honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jewish Chronicle Rise of the Steelers, American Football Database Lanny Frattare, Waynesburg University The John Steigerwald Show, AM1250 “The Answer” Walter Iooss, Jr., His Website Michael MacCambridge, His Author Website

Julia Parsons joins Tim to talk about her role as a code-breaker during World War II. Julia was part of a a team of Navy women stationed in Washington, D.C. during World War II who worked to decipher German submarine messages that were sent in secret code using the Enigma machine. Her work relied on the now legendary Bombe machine invented by Alan Turing. This episode was originally released on July 22, 2019. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/339_-_WWII_-_Cracking_the_Enigma_Code.mp3 If you’ve ever seen the motion picture The Imitation Game, you would be familiar with the story of Alan Turing and his highly secretive and revolutionary work during World War II. If you have seen that movie, it may give you a greater sense of what Julia Parsons, this episode’s guest, did in her own way to help the Allies defeat the Nazis. Not long after the war started, German submarines were sinking more ships than the United States could replace. During 1942, German subs patrolled just off America’s Atlantic coast. Under the cover of darkness, they would torpedo ships that were silhouetted against the city lights in the background. In the open water, German U-boats would operate in packs and sink entire convoys in coordinated attacks. If a U-boat spotted a convoy, the German skipper would communicate with other U-boats nearby using a complex machine that sent coded messages that only other U-boats could decipher using the same machine. Then they would converge like a pack of wolves and attack allied ships. The goal was to cut off England’s supply line from the United States. The machine that the German military used to create that secret code was called the Enigma. Enigma was so sophisticated it was thought impossible to crack. The entire secret language the machine used changed completely every 24 hours. So, even if you were to crack the code of the machine today, you would have to start all over again tomorrow. Both the Americans and the British were working hard on both sides of the Atlantic to crack the German military’s secret code. In England, British Intelligence put together a team of their greatest minds and set about trying to solve the Enigma code. Alan Turing, young a mathematical genius, ran his own group as part of that effort, which would somehow find a way to crack the Enigma code. In the process, he and his team created a new machine. Turing had realized that human beings alone could not analyze the vast amounts of data required every 24 hours to solve the Enigma problem each day. They needed a machine that was equally sophisticated at unlocking the Enigma code. The machine Turing’s team invented was known as the Bombe, and not only would it crack the Enigma code, shortening World War II by two or three years and saving countless lives, but it would also launch the modern era of computing. Thanks to the Bombe machine, the Allies could read German communications and gain a strategic military advantage in the field. German U-boats were neutralized. Allied ships were steered away from U-boats and kept safe. In December 1942, Turing went to the United States to share what he knew about Enigma, along with his own solutions, with the U.S. military. Meanwhile, the U.S. had its own code-cracking team. Within that larger U.S. effort, Julia Parsons was on a team of Navy women who worked to decipher German U-boat messages sent by the Enigma machine. In the Naval Communications Annex on Nebraska Avenue, thousands of WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services) worked in three shifts to break the codes the Germans used in Europe and on the Atlantic, and by the Japanese in the Pacific. Links How Alan Turing Cracked the Enigma Code, The Imperial War Museums Overlooked No More: Alan Turing, Condemned Code Breaker and Computer Visionary, New York Times Germans Unleash U-boats, History.com How Did the Enigma Machine Work? The Guardian

Former CNN lead news anchor Aaron Brown joins Tim to tell his story from September 11, 2001, where he brought the event to 1.4 billion viewers around the world, live as it happened. It was Aaron Brown on that day, standing on a rooftop in New York City, bringing us one of the most historic and tragic moments of our generation in real time. This episode is part of our special series, “9/11: A Generation Removed.” This episode was originally released on September 7, 2021. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/338_-_911_-_A_Network_Anchor_Story_at_20.mp3 If you remember September 11, 2001, you remember how you learned of the terrorist attacks of that day. If you weren’t in New York City, or at the Pentagon, or in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, chances are you remember getting the news from a friend, or a coworker, or a family member, and then you turned on the TV. I’ll tell you what I did. I was in a meeting in a building just next to the Pittsburgh airport. We could hear and feel the roar of jet engines nonstop as they came in, one after the other to land. This was not normal. I remember telling the person I was with that it reminded me of jets landing on an aircraft carrier. Minutes later, someone came into the room and told us that all flights were grounded, so if anyone had a plane to catch, they were out of luck. That a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and that was all they knew. My meeting was over, so I went out to my car, and that was my first chance to get the news. I heard it on the radio. Then I went home and spent the rest of that day glued to the television, flipping channels, just like most Americans and people around the world. While the Internet was extremely influential, television was the thing. Most everyone in America still got most of their breaking news from one of the three broadcast networks or CNN, or the radio. Newspapers would follow the next day with in-depth reporting. News websites sort of filled in where broadcast and print couldn’t. It all worked together to give you the best picture of events as possible. On September 11th, most watched on television. Tragic, scary, puzzling, angering, confusing, and live. Live coverage removed the filter, it removed the buffer. Journalists were seeing events unfold with us. And so were decision-makers, from the White House to the Pentagon to air traffic controllers and first responders. If you weren’t on site, you were watching a TV monitor. Yet still, it was the job of a few reporters to try to make sense of it all with us and for us. Aaron Brown was the face and the voice of CNN on that day. He was the cable network’s lead anchor, newly minted, having just arrived from ABC. He was one of a handful of people, that the world relied on to try to understand what we were all seeing. To verify what we were all hearing. To know what was actually happening. Links Aaron Brown Joining Walter Cronkite School, Adweek On the 15th Anniversary, what it was like to anchor 9/11, CNN The Face of 9/11, HuffPost About 9/11: A Generation Removed On September 11, 2021, America will mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the country that happened on September 11, 2001. In remembrance of the event, the Shaping Opinion podcast will release a series of nine distinct episodes centered on the 9/11 attacks, starting on Friday, September 3rd and culminating on the 20th Anniversary, September 11, 2021.  The series, entitled, “9/11: A Generation Removed,” will feature six new and original episodes for 2021, and three encore episodes, all based on the personal experiences of guests and stories of people who were there in New York, in Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. About this Episode’s Guest Aaron Brown Aaron Brown circa 2001 Aaron Brown is an American journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11 attacks on CNN. He was a longtime reporter for ABC,

Author and professor Eric Heinze joins Tim to talk about freedom of speech and expression at the most fundamental level. He recently wrote a book on free speech, but it’s not exactly what you might expect. He explores free speech in a larger more fundamental context than America’s First Amendment. He talks about it in the context of universal human rights. Eric tells us about the thinking behind his new book called, “The Most Human Right: Why Free Speech is Everything.” This episode was originally released May 9, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/337_-_Eric_Heinze_Free_Speech.mp3 One of the benefits of having a podcast is that you get the chance to talk to a diverse set of really smart and interesting people. Sometimes those people write books, and that’s the case with our guest today. As mentioned, the book Eric Heinze wrote is about free speech and human rights. Eric is a professor of law and humanities at Queen Mary University of London. In his book, he asks questions like, “What are human rights?” “Are they laid out definitively in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the U.S. Bill of Rights?” Or, are they just items on a checklist, like a good standard of living, housing, dignity? That’s how Eric frames his new book. But what caught my attention when reading the book is how deep he really goes on this topic. He doesn’t flinch when he takes the stance that when global human rights programs fail, it is often the result of people being denied one basic human right – freedom of speech. Links Eric Heinze: Queen Mary University of London “The Most Human Right: Why Free Speech is Everything,” by Eric Heinze (Amazon) About this Episode’s Guest Eric Heinze After completing studies in Paris, Berlin, Boston, and Leiden, Eric Heinze worked with the International Commission of Jurists and UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva, and on private litigation before the United Nations Administrative Tribunal in New York. He conducts lectures and interviews internationally in English, French, German, and Dutch, and is a member of the Bars of New York and Massachusetts, and has also advised NGOs on human rights, including Liberty, Amnesty International and the Media Diversity Institute. He has recently served as Project Leader for the four nation EU (HERA) consortium Memory Laws in European and Comparative Perspective (MELA).  His prior awards and fellowships have included a Fulbright Fellowship, a French Government (Chateaubriand) Fellowship, a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) fellowship, a Nuffield Foundation Grant, an Obermann Fellowship (Center for Advanced Studies, University of Iowa), and several Harvard University Fellowships, including a Sheldon grant, an Andres Public Interest grant, and a C. Clyde Ferguson Human Rights Fellowship. Heinze co-founded and currently directs Queen Mary’s Centre for Law, Democracy, and Society (CLDS).  His opinion pieces  have appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Independent, Times Higher Education, Aeon, The Raw Story, openDemocracy, Speakers’ Corner Trust, Quillette, The Conversation, Left Foot Forward, Eurozine, and other publications, and he has done television, radio and press interviews for media in Denmark, Brazil, the Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, the UK and the US.  He serves on the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Human Rights, the University of Bologna Law Review and the British Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Heinze recently completed The Most Human Right for MIT Press.  His other books include Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship (Oxford University Press, 2016), The Concept of Injustice (Routledge 2013), The Logic of Constitutional Rights (Ashgate 2005; Routledge 2017); The Logic of Liberal Rights (Ashgate 2003; Routledge 2017); The Logic of Equality (Ashgate 2003; Routledge 2019), Sexual Orientation: A Human Right (Nijhoff 1995),

Storyteller Margot Leitman joins Tim to talk about the art of storytelling, and how you can be a better storyteller.  Margot is an award-winning storyteller, best-selling author, speaker and teacher and a Moth Storytelling “GrandSlam” winner. This episode was originally released January 17, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/222_-_Margot_Leitman_Storyteller_auphonic.mp3 If you’re a regular podcast listener, there is a good chance you heard about a group called The Moth. It’s a nonprofit group based in New York City that’s dedicated to the art and craft of live storytelling. The organization was founded in 1997 and now hosts storytelling events across the United States. Storytellers are from all walks of life, and each one takes the stage to tell a personal story, and each has a chance to have that story and the performance of telling it ranked. The Moth has branched out into more than simply live events. The Moth podcast is one of the most popular podcasts in the medium. Some Moth storytellers can become champion storytellers. Its published books on storytelling, and it hosts other events. If you have the chance to tell your story on a Moth stage, you could become a Champion. Some of the best storytelling performers are recognized as Moth Grandslam Champions. Our guest today is one of those champions. Margot Leitman is an author who has written books about storytelling. She’s written for NBC, Dreamworks TV, the Hallmark Channel and others. She is a five-time winner of The Moth StorySLAM, and was the Moth GrandSLAM winner in New York City. Links Margot Leitman (website) The Moth Radio Hour (website) The Moth (official website) About this Episode’s Guest Margot Leitman Margot Leitman is the author of the best-selling book LongStory Short: the Only Storytelling Guide You’ll Ever Need, What’s Your Story? & Gawky: Tales of an Extra Long Awkward Phase. She has written for DreamWorks TV, the Hallmark Channel, and the Pixl Network and worked for “This American Life” as the West Coast story scout. She is the founder of the storytelling program at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre and is a five-time winner of the Moth Storyslam and a winner of the Moth Grandslam, receiving the first ever score of a perfect 10. She travels all over the world teaching people to tell their stories.

If you like baseball you’ll love this interview. If you like Pittsburgh sports, you’ll love this interview. Former Pittsburgh Pirate closer and World Series Champion Kent Tekulve joins Tim in this special extended episode. Kent talks baseball, Pittsburgh, how to teach kids about sports, and somewhat about life. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Kent_Tekulve_-_The_Closer_auphonic.mp3 This is an extended conversation where I promise you that after you listen to this, you’ll feel like you made a new best friend. With that in mind, we’re going to get right to our interview. But before we do, I think I owe it to you to give you some of the basics. Kent Tekulve is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was a tall, skinny reliever and a closer in his career, which included stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. You can learn a ton if all you do is search for his name online, and you’ll get all his stats. Kent Tekulve pitched in more than 1,000 major league games during the 1970s and 80s. He recorded an unbelievable 184 saves. He was a closer, and if you know anything about baseball, closers are the coolest dudes on the roster. They come in when the pressure’s on and they close out the game. He’s most known as a Pittsburgh Pirate, but not just any Pirate. Kent was the pitcher on the mound to get the last out of the seventh game in the 9th inning of the 1979 World Series. This was the last time the Pirates made it to the World Series, and the last time they won a World Series. Kent was on the mound in Baltimore for that feat. He came up in the minors with the Pirates and played in his first major league game in 1974. If You Liked This Episode You’ll Also Like Going Head to Head with the NFL - Guest: Ralph Cindrich Larry Czonka: A Football Story - Guest: Larry Czonka Links Kent Tekulve - Baseball Reference Kent Tekulve - Major League Baseball Kent Tekulve: The Bespectacled Submariner of the '79 World Series Remains a Man of the People in Pittsburgh - Sports Illustrated About this Episode’s Guest Kent Tekulve Kent Tekulve is best known as "Teke." He’s  was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for 16 years, playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. He was best known as a side-arm pitcher who threw the final pitch to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series. Tekulve graduated from Marietta College in Ohio, and then signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for them until 1985.  His most memorable seasons were 1978 and 1979 when he saved 31 games and posted ERAs of 2.33 (’78) and 2.75 (’79). In 1979, he was key to the Pirates World Series season and in Game 7 of the World Series that year in Baltimore. In 1985, the Pirates traded him to the Phillies. In 1989, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds, retiring from baseball at mid-season. Tekulve led the National League in games pitched four times, appearing in 90 or more games three times. He is one of two pitchers (also Mike Marshall) in baseball history to appear in 90 or more games more than once. They did it three times each. Tekulve had three saves in the 1979 World Series, which tied the single-Series mark set by Pittsburgh Pirate Elroy Face in the 1960 World Series. That record would stand until 1996. Tekulve holds the National League record for career innings pitched in relief (1,436+2⁄3). For a time, he held the major league record for career relief appearances - 1,050 career games, all in relief. Tekulve holds career records for most appearances and innings pitched without making a single start. He still resides in the Pittsburgh area.

FBI-trained hostage negotiator Scott Tillema joins Tim to talk about how to negotiate when the stakes are high, even when lives are on the line. Scott teaches organizations how to use the power of life-saving negotiation principles to get results. This episode was first released March 14, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/334_-_Scott_Tillema_Secrets_of_a_Hostage_Negotiator.mp3 Scott Tillema was trained by the FBI in hostage negotiating. He spent over seven years as a negotiator with the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System Emergency Services Team. This one of the largest municipal SWAT teams in the United States. Scott is known across the country as a speaker in the field of police negotiations. He’s presented to audiences of all sizes, including a very popular TEDx Talk where he covered, “The Secrets of Hostage Negotiators.” That’s what we talked about when we sat down with him recently. Links Scott Tillema Website Negotiations Collective, Scott Tillema Page How to Use the FBI’s Behavioral Change Stairway Model to Influence Like a Pro, EMS1 Active Listening Skills, Psychology Today Kwame Christian: On Compassionate Curiosity, Behavioral Grooves Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change, by Robert Cialdini (Amazon) About this Episode’s Guest Scott Tillema Scott Tillema is an FBI-trained hostage negotiator. He teaches police, law enforcement agencies and others how to use the power of life-saving techniques and principles to enhance their work. He is a nationally recognized leader in the field of crisis and hostage negotiations, passionately training thousands of police negotiators across the country in verbal influence. He has developed a powerful model for safely resolving crisis situations, which is now being recognized and adapted by the private sector for use in sales, communication, influence, and leadership.

In this episode we hear from seven people who talked with Tim to answer the question, “What is the American Dream?”  Tim set out to get the answer to the question on the streets of his hometown, Pittsburgh.  You’ll hear from Vidya, Dwayne, Chuck, Leah, Jack, Tamara and Charlie. Each person was selected randomly in “man on the street” interviews, and we had no idea what they would say, but all of their answers were moving, thought-provoking and inspiring. This episode was first released July 4, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/247_-_7_Voices_-_The_American_Dream_auphonic.mp3 For thousands of years, around the world, people weren’t trusted to govern themselves. It was assumed you needed a king, a czar or a dictator to decide what’s best for you. But in 1776, a group of brave revolutionaries came along with a different idea. They believed that common and civilized people could run their own country. That they didn’t need a king, a monarchy or a dictatorship to run their lives. They believed in freedom, and they spelled it out in the Declaration of the Independence, and the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. They created the greatest country in the history of the world based on the principles contained in these documents. The thinking is that all people want to be free to decide for themselves on everything from religion and work, to how they raise their families, what they could own, how they could own it and how they can craft their own lives for themselves. But it’s more than just wanting to be free. They deserve to be free. The founders of the United States of America said it’s not the government that should have the power to grant you your fundamental rights or take them from you. Instead, your rights come from a higher source of power, that your rights and freedoms already exist.  They believed that you are born a free person. You can only lose that freedom or certain freedoms when someone else takes them from you. These thoughts inspired a revolution. Time and again over America’s history, it has had to struggle and sometimes fight over the very issue of freedom, and many of the freedoms we now cherish. There is always someone who wants to take some freedoms away from someone else, and so it’s a struggle for a country like ours to preserve those freedoms. But freedom has survived and thrived, and it has made many things possible for our nation, our people and our future. In the process, our nation has changed the world and advanced all humanity. We have a term for the thing that sets America apart from all other countries. It’s just two words. When we think of what makes America the exception in all of history…we think of the American Dream.  That is the subject of this episode. Links Declaration of Independence Constitution of the United States of America Revolutionary War, History Independence Day, National Parks Service

Historian and author Christopher R. Browning joins Tim to talk about his study of the Holocaust and the “Final Solution” in Poland. In this episode, Christopher discusses his book, “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” and how a group of otherwise average, everyday men turned into one of Hitler’s most prolific killing squads in World War II. This episode was first released January 24, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/223_-_Ordinary_Men_Making_a_Kill_Squad.mp3 Long before the world heard the term “Holocaust” in connection with the Second World War, and even before the mass killing started, it all began with an atmosphere in Germany that supported the expelling of Jewish people from territories controlled by Hitler’s Germany. At some point, instead of expulsion, the movement would turn into the mass executions of millions of Jews in places like Poland. Historian and author Christopher Browning wrote the landmark book on how such horrific events could take place. It’s called “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland.” To set the stage for the larger story of the book, Browning tells us how it began. This passage is part of the opening chapter that book: “Pale and nervous, with choking voice and tears in his eyes, (Major) Trapp visibly fought to control himself as he spoke. The battalion, he said plaintively, had to perform a frightfully unpleasant task. This assignment was not to his liking, indeed it was highly regrettable, but the orders came from the highest authorities. If it would make their task any easier, the men should remember that in Germany the bombs were falling on women and children. He then turned to the matter at hand. The Jews had instigated the American boycott that had damaged Germany, one policeman remembered Trapp saying. There were Jews in the village of Jozefow who were involved with the partisans, he explained according to two others. The battalion had now been ordered to round up these Jews. The male Jews of working age were to be separated and taken to a work camp. The remaining Jews – the women, children, and elderly – were to be shot on the spot by the battalion. Having explained what awaited his men, Trapp then made an extraordinary offer: if any of the older men among them did not feel up to the task that lay before him, he could step out.” These were the major’s comments to the battalion of mostly middle-aged men on the morning of July 13, 1942. They weren’t Nazis. They weren’t even members of the German army. They made up a police battalion of working-class men too old to serve in the army. Those men would round up and shoot 1,500 Jews in that Polish village on that one day. That battalion would eventually kill upwards of 83,000 captives during the war, making it one of the most efficient German killing squads in the war. But as the title of Christopher Browning’s book suggests, before the war, he says these were considered Ordinary Men. Links Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, by Christopher R. Browning (Barnes & Noble) Christopher R. Browning, University of North Carolina (website) The Stanford Prison Experiment (website) About this Episode’s Guest Christopher Browning Christopher R. Browning was the Frank Porter Graham Professor of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill until his retirement in May 2014.  Before taking up this position in the fall of 1999, he taught for 25 years at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. Browning received his B.A. degree from Oberlin College in 1967 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968 and 1975 respectively.  He is the author of eight books: The Final Solution and the German Foreign Office (1978), Fateful Months:  Essays on the Emergence of the Final Solution (1985),

Advocate, author and attorney Charles H. Rose, III, joins Tim to talk about the art of cross-examination in the court of law. Charles is a successful lawyer, a trial advocate, an author, and currently, he’s the Dean of the Pettit College of Law at Ohio Northern University. In this episode, he talks about one of the most dramatic features of any courtroom, the cross-examination of a witness at trial. Cross-examination is often where cases are won or lost in the court of law. This episode was originally released on February 28, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/228_-_Charles_Rose_-_The_Art_of_Cross_Examination.mp3 Watch just about any movie or TV show where the drama revolves around a court case and sooner or later the climax of the plot will revolve around a particular witness or testimony. The trial lawyers question their own witnesses in litigation, and their opposing attorneys have the chance to cross-examine those same witnesses. They get to challenge claims and statements that were made. They go back over previous testimony and look for gaps or contradictions in statements, all to win the case. In many court cases, cross-examinations are usually tense. A case can be won or lost with every witness who takes the stand. Our guest today, Charles Rose is regarded as one of the better attorneys at cross-examination. While he’s now law school dean at Ohio Northern University, and he’s served on the faculty at other law schools, he’s had a decorated career in the U.S. Army. He served as a judge advocate where he’s focused on persuasion techniques. He teaches and researches in the areas of advocacy, criminal procedure, evidence and professional ethics. Links Charles H. Rose, III (Ohio Northen University) Charles H. Rose, III, The Trial Advocate (TrialAdvocate.com) Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (Amazon.com) About this Episode’s Guest Charles H. Rose, III Charles H. Rose III, dean of the Pettit College of Law, previously served as professor of law and director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson University’s College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. Prior to joining the Stetson faculty in 2005, Rose spent 20 years on active duty in the Army. He served as a linguist, intelligence officer and judge advocate. His primary scholarly interest focuses on advocacy persuasion techniques, and he teaches and researches in the areas of advocacy, criminal procedure, military law, evidence and professional ethics. Rose earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University at South Bend and his JD from Notre Dame Law School. He also earned an LLM from the Judge Advocate General’s School, United States Army.

Cayce, South Carolina Police Chief Chris Cowan joins Tim to talk about something both of us wished we didn’t have to talk about. He tells the story of the recent and tragic loss of one of his officers who was shot and killed while responding to a call. He tells the story of and pays tribute to Officer Drew Barr. In the process, he tells the story of the risks and sacrifices police officers take every day to ‘protect and serve.’  This episode was originally released May 16, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/shapingopinion/Drew_Barr_End_of_Watch_auphonic.mp3 Cayce, South Carolina is a suburb to the City of Columbia. A few weeks ago, in the early morning hours of a Sunday in Cayce – 2:48 a.m., on April 24th to be exact – there was what police call a “domestic disturbance.” Police were called to the scene. Three officers responded. The second officer on the scene was Drew Barr.  We’re going to tell you what happened, but before we do that, you need to know a little bit about the young officer. Partners Drew Barr and Molly He was 28 years old. He joined the Cayce Police Department in 2016.  In October 2020, he was promoted to the department’s K-9 unit. His canine partner was Molly, a black Labrador retriever, who became his family. He had no wife or children, but he did love his community and he worked to keep it safe. In addition to being a police officer, he was also a volunteer firefighter, a captain in the Monetta Volunteer Fire Department. He was an emergency medical technician. He was a committed professional. These are the details that Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan does not want to get lost when people talk about Officer Roy “Drew” Barr.   Links Cayce Police Department SC law enforcement community mourns slain Cayce police officer: ‘He was brave’ | Columbia | postandcourier.com ‘Our Hearts Are Breaking in Cayce;’ SC Fire Captain/Police Officer Killed in Shooting (firefighternation.com) Officer Drew Barr honored at funeral and graveside service (wistv.com) Chief: Man killed SC officer with calculated shot from rifle – ABC News (go.com) Gratitude Our gratitude to the Cayce Police Department for the photos used on this page, to Chief Cowan for telling the Drew Barr story, to Officer Drew Barr himself and to his family for the sacrifices they have made for others. About this Episode’s Guest Chris Cowan Chris Cowan is recognized internationally for his vast network of private and public partnerships and his expansive policing knowledge, from 29 years in law enforcement.   Chris’ extensive experience leading special operations, homeland security, crime suppression, professional development, community policing, media relations and business and community crime prevention units has given him a unique perspective on what it takes to be a guardian to our communities.   He has also served as a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Public Information Officer, Commander of Special Weapons and Tactics Units and Commander of Community Policing Units.  This experience has provided Chris with a unique perspective on mitigating challenges to corporate and community quality of life issues because it has been paralleled with 22 years in corporate security, risk management and professional development.   His passion is holistic policing strategies to provide stability to all citizens, and protect the vulnerable, through programs that create religious, business and neighborhood crime prevention. Commissioned a United States Naval Officer; he secured his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.  He has also earned a Masters Certificate from the Australian Institute of Police Management.  Chris is a graduate of the South Carolina Executive Institute, the FBI National Academy, the FBI Command College and the FBI Hazardous Devices School Executive Management Program.   He has over 19 years of leadership experience in the fields of administration, human capital, crisis management,

Groundhog Club Inner Circle member John Griffiths joins Tim to talk about Groundhog Day and why a little town called Punxsutawney becomes the epicenter of weather prognostication one day a year. John is the handler of Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania ground hog famous around the world for predicting whether or not we have another 6 weeks of winter. February 2nd is better known as Groundhog Day. This episode was first released January 21, 2019. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/329_-_Encore_-_Its_Groundhog_Day_Again.mp3 On February 2nd, 2019, it will be the 133rd year of Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, which is a little drive north of Pittsburgh. This is when Punxsutawney Phil will reveal to the president of his Inner Circle his prediction for the end of winter. It all happens at the break of dawn, on a usually very cold morning in front of thousands of spectators and television and news media cameras. Whatever happens, Phil’s prediction is transmitted to millions thanks to the media. History of Groundhog Day Groundhog Day has European roots. Started centuries ago and is rooted in certain animals in nature “awakening” from their winter hibernation on certain dates. Legend has it then that the groundhog come out of his winter hibernation on February 2nd to look for his shadow. If he sees it, this is seen as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather, and he then returns into his hole. If the day is cloudy, and there is no shadow to see, he takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground. Some of Pennsylvania’s earliest settlers were Germans and they noticed the abundance of groundhogs. They saw the animal as the most intelligent and sensible of the local animals, and decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, the groundhog would be the one to see its shadow or not. Phun Phacts Punxsutawney Phil is named after King Phillip. Crowds have gotten as high as 30,000 on Gobbler’s Knob. The Punxsutawney Spirit newspaper printed the first news of the observance in 1886, one year before the first trip to Gobbler’s Knob. During Prohibition, Phil threatened to imposed 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn’t permitted a drink. In 1982 Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran. In 1986, Phil went to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Reagan. 1993, Columbia Pictures released the movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. Links The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Groundhog Day Movie via Amazon The First Groundhog Day, History.com Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney from The Encyclopedia Britannica About this Episode’s Guest John Griffiths John Griffiths is a co-handler in the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club and a member of the Inner Circle.  He’s been a member since 1999. His advice to people who plan on enjoying Groundhog Day in person, he advises “Put all rational thought out of your mind and let the day take you wherever it may.” His favorite Groundhog Day Memory was, “Meeting a couple from the state of Washington who told me Groundhog Day was their favorite holiday because it wasn’t political or religious, its just ‘fun’.”

Television host and producer Marc Summers joins Tim to talk about the classic Nickelodeon show that put him and the Nickelodeon cable network on the map, Double Dare. Before Double Dare, kids didn’t have their own game show and the Nickelodeon network was not as widely known as it would become after this crazy, messy, green slimy “party” that millions of millennials would rush home after school to watch. This episode was originally released on March 16, 2020. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/214_-_Encore_-_Marc_Summers_and_Nickelodeon.mp3 It was the first game show for kids on the Nickelodeon cable network. It premiered in 1986 with Marc Summers as its host. Double Dare. In the show, two teams would compete to win money and prizes by answering trivia questions and completing physical challenges that amounted to an organized mess. The original version of Double Dare ran from 1986 to 1993. Two subsequent versions relaunched in 2000, and then from 2018 to 2019. Double Dare had more than tripled viewership for Nickelodeon in the afternoon. It was the most popular original daily program on cable television. Because of that show, Nickelodeon was able to take its place as a major player in cable television, and game shows for kids a thing. The show remains Nickelodeon’s longest-running game show. In January 2001, TV Guide, ranked the show number 29 on its list of 50 Greatest Game Shows. Links Marc Summers Double Dare, Nick Double Dare, Fandom Five Things to Know About the Green Slime on Double Dare, Newsday About this Episode’s Guest Marc Summers Marc Summers is a veteran television host and producer, and a comedian. His long list of television credits include: host and producer of Double Dare on Nickelodeon, Unwrapped for the Food Network, and as executive producer of the Food Network’s Dinner: Impossible and Restaurant: Impossible. Over the year’s he’s hosted other shows, such as the syndicated Couch Potatoes, Nickelodeon’s What Would You Do?, and as a talk show host on the Lifetime network’s Our Home program. He remains active in new projects across several networks and platforms.

Author Mark Seal joins Tim to talk with Mark about the subject of his popular new book about the making of The Godfather movie. The book is called, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.” Mark has is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair where he’s covered scandals, history makers and pop culture icons. This episode was originally released January 10, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/221_-_The_Making_of_The_Godfather_auphonic.mp3 The Godfather was the first of three motion pictures directed by Francis Ford Coppola about the fictional Corleone crime family. The box office hit was released in 1972, and was followed by sequels in 1974 and 1990. The original Godfather film was inspired by the novel of the same name that was written by Mario Puzo and published in 1969. All of the films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and generated roughly $512 million worldwide. The film franchise won nine Academy Awards. This coming March will mark the 50th anniversary of when the Godfather first hit the big screens. The movie centers on Don Vito Corleone and his family. Marlon Brando plays the Don. The Don declines an offer to get into the narcotics business with another crime family, which is led by Virgil Sollozzo. This creates problems. Don Corleone becomes a marked man. Don Corleone’s oldest boy is Sonny Corleone. He’s played by James Caan. Sonny takes over the crime family while his father recovers. Meanwhile, Sonny’s little brother Michael – who is played by Al Pacino – is recruited to exact revenge on Sollozzo. As the gang wars heat up, Michael is sent to Sicily to lay low for a while. That’s where he meets his first wife. The violence follows him there when his young bride is killed. Back in New York, Michael’s older brother Sonny is killed in an ambush attack. By now, Don Vito Corleone has recovered from the assassination attempt on his life, but he decides to turn over the control of the family business to Michael. There are plots and sub-plots, but through it all, Michael emerges as a force to be reckoned with, and Al Pacino goes from a relative unknown to a Hollywood super star. Mark Seal first wrote about the making of The Godfather years ago in his work for Vanity Fair Magazine. Eventually, that work would lead to his new book entitled, “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli.” Links Mark Seal (website) Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, by Mark Seal (Barnes & Noble) About this Episode’s Guest Mark Seal Veteran author and journalist Mark Seal joined Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 2003, covering stories as varied as the Bernie Madoff scandal, Ghislaine Maxwell, Tiger Woods, the fall of Olympian Oscar Pistorius, the making of classic films such as Pulp Fiction, and many more. He has twice been a National Magazine Awards finalist. His 2016 Vanity Fair article “The Over the Hill Gang,” about a gang of retired thieves who pulled off the biggest jewel heist in British history, was the basis of the 2018 film, King of Thieves, starring Michael Caine. In addition to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. he is the author of the books Wildflower, about the incredible life and brutal murder of Kenyan naturalist and filmmaker Joan Root, and The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, about the serial con artist Clark Rockefeller.

Amy Herman joins Tim to talk about a one-of-a-kind career she made for herself, all centered on using art to help people see the world differently and better in order to do their jobs better.  Amy is the author of the books, “Visual Intelligence” and “Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving.” In short, Amy helps people find information and solutions that are hiding in plain sight. This episode originally was released February 7, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Hiding_in_Plain_Sight.mp3 Amy Herman teaches visual intelligence. She gives lectures, she gives TED talks, she gives tours of art museums, she participates in podcasts like this one. And the common theme is that she helps others see things they may be missing. She helps them develop a skillset or an ability to see details or context that’s right in front of them, but in the normal course of affairs, they just may not see. Some of her students are police detectives, federal agents, doctors, and many others. Amy works to help them improve their visual intelligence. Imagine what it would be like to be given a short period of time to investigate a crime scene – a murder scene. It’s your job to look for patterns, to look for exceptions, to look for details and clues that might tell you when this was done, what the motive might have been, and perhaps who may have done it. How can you step back and look at the scene with a fresh eye. An unbiased eye. One that picks up things you might not have noticed before? That’s one of the first questions we asked Amy. Links The Art of Perception (website) Visual Intelligence, by Amy Herman (Amazon) Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving, by Amy Herman (Amazon) To Master the Art of Solving Crimes, Cops Study Vermeer, Wall Street Journal About this Episode’s Guest Amy Herman Amy Herman Amy Herman is a lawyer and art historian who uses works of art to sharpen observation, analysis, and communication skills. By showing people how to look closely at painting, sculpture, and photography, she helps them hone their visual intelligence to recognize the most pertinent and useful information as well as recognize biases that impede decision making. She developed her Art of Perception seminar in 2000 to improve medical students’ observation and communication skills with their patients when she was the Head of Education at The Frick Collection in New York City. She subsequently adapted the program for a wide range of professionals and leads sessions internationally for the New York City Police Department, the FBI, the French National Police, the Department of Defense, Interpol, the State Department, Fortune 500 companies, first responders, the military, and the intelligence community. In her highly participatory presentation, she demonstrates the relevance of visual literacy across the professional spectrum and how the analysis of works of art affords participants in her program an innovative way to refresh their sense of critical inquiry and reconsider the skills necessary for improved performance and effective leadership. The program has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The CBS Evening News, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others. Her TED talk, A Lesson in Looking, went live in December 2018. Ms. Herman holds an A.B., a J.D., and an M.A. in art history. Her book, Visual Intelligence, was published in May 2016 and was on both the New York Times and Washington Post best sellers’ lists.

Alexis McCrossen, a professor at SMU and an expert on how cultures have marked time in history, Joins Tim to talk about our New Year’s Eve traditions with a special focus on the story behind that Times Square Ball Drop. This episode was first released on December 24, 2018. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/325_-_Encore_New_Years.mp3 If you plan to watch the Times Square ball-drop at Midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’re not alone.  New York City expects to play host to over 2 million people for the festivities. Over 175 million across the United States will watch the ball drop on TV. And around the world, over 1 billion people will watch. 103 million said they will travel 30 miles or more to celebrate 93.6 million will drive When we think of New Year’s Eve, we often think of Times Square and parties at organized events, bars and restaurants, but I have some interesting statistics, thanks to WalletHub from last year: 49% celebrate the holiday at home 9% at a bar, restaurant, or organized event 23% don’t celebrate New Year’s Eve 30% said they fall asleep before Midnight 61% said they say a prayer on New Year’s Eve. Rankings Christmas 78% Thanksgiving 74% Independence Day 47% New Year’s Eve 41% Most Popular New Year’s Eve Destinations Las Vegas Orlando New York City More Times Square Stats 7,000 police officers in Times Square 1.5 tons of confetti dropped 280 sanitation workers will clean up 40-50 tons of trash. The ball itself – Waterford Crystal Triangles – 11,875 pounds That’s today. Let’s talk about the history: For 4,000 years people have marked a New Year Public bells would herald the New Year since the Middle Ages Theaters, taverns and other places would be very busy on the night Rituals meant to augur good fortune. 1900 or so, the moment of Midnight became the focus because cities were illuminated with gas and electric lights. (Times Square) Installation of public clocks and bells The Countdown 1907/08 was the first year to drop an illuminated time ball at the moment of the New Year’s arrival. Uses a flag pole atop One Times Square. First one was made of iron and wood and had 25-watt light bulbs. 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. When radio and television media emerged, New Year’s Eve was a made for broadcast media event. Live coverage. Links Counting Down to a New Year: The History of Our Joyful Celebration, We’re History For Better or Worse, The New Year is Time’s Touchstone, Dallas Morning News A Ball of a Time: A History of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, The New Yorker How Times Square Became the Home of New Year’s Eve, History.com About this Episode’s Guest Alexis McCrossen Alexis McCrossen is a professor of history at Southern Methodist University and has devoted her career as a cultural historian to studying how Americans observe the passage of time. She is the author of Holy Day, Holiday: The American Sunday; and Marking Modern Times: Clocks, Watches and Other Timekeepers in American Life.

Today is Christmas. We’re in the peak of the American holiday season, which started at Thanksgiving. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I’d take to the streets of Pittsburgh once again and talk to people about their holiday memories. That’s what this special holiday edition of the Shaping Opinion podcast is about. This episode was originally released on December 19, 2022. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/324_-_Encore_7_Favorite_Holiday_Memories.mp3 In this episode, we talk about some favorite holiday memories. You’ll hear from seven different people, each with their own holiday memories, and there’s one thing I can tell you, not one of them will talk about a toy they found under that Christmas tree. Each person has his or her unique and special holiday memories. But as we’ve found in previous episodes like this, you may hear something of your own holidays in the stories our guests tell. In the end, there is a common thread across every story we hear. To prepare for this episode, I spent the afternoon before Thanksgiving on a bench in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It was a nice November day in the city. Warm and sunny. People were in a good mood, getting ready for the holiday season once again. The voices you hear are of Elijah, Sara, Katie, Jeremy, Deborah, Gina, and Heather. Links ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: The Story and Trivia Behind the Beloved Classic Holiday Tale, Parade How 25 Christmas Traditions Got Their Start, History.com 10 Must-see Attractions During the Holidays in Pittsburgh, DiscoverTheBurgh.com

Plan on watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation this holiday season? Listen to the film’s director Jeremiah Chechik talk about the impact that movie has had on him and on our holiday entertainment traditions. He’ll talk about the making of the film and why the Griswold Family have become a staple in holiday viewing. This episode was originally released on December 2, 2019. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/323_-_Encore_-_Christmas_Vacation_Movie.mp3 Are there any movies you just have to watch every year during the holiday season? Maybe you like to watch Frank Capra’s classic called It’s a Wonderful Life that featured Jimmy Stewart. Or, perhaps your favorite move is one of the Home Alone films, written of course by John Hughes. Or, just maybe your holiday season wouldn’t be complete without inviting Clark Griswold and family into your home. It’s been 30 years since John Hughes wrote the script for National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which itself was the third sequel in a series of National Lampoon Vacation films, starring Chevy Chase. The film was based on a short story that John Hughes wrote for National Lampoon in December 1980. That story was called, “Christmas ’59.” The movie was no small budget affair. And it featured an ensemble cast of already established actors, and a few who would become A-list Hollywood stars. In addition to Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo played Clark’s wife Ellen. Juliette Lewis played their sarcastic teenage daughter. Johnny Galecki played their son, Russ. Randy Quaid delivered an unforgettable performance as Cousin Eddie, and he was joined by an all-star ensemble cast that included Miriam Flynn, who played his wife, and John Randolph, Diane Ladd, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, who played the parents of Clark and Ellen. Other notable actors who made their mark on the film were William Hickey, Mae Questel, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brian Doyle-Murray. Christmas Vacation debuted at number-2 at the box office, grossing nearly $12 million that opening weekend. It would top the box office charts three weeks later, eventually grossing over $71 million in the United States. And that was before it hit the home video market and landed its place on our list of holiday season traditions. For Jeremiah Chechik, it was his first chance to direct a full-length feature film, and a comedy. Links National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, IMDB Jeremiah Chechik An Oral History of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Rolling Stone Christmas Vacation Movie Facts, Good Housekeeping About this Episode’s Guest Jeremiah Chechik Jeremiah Chechik was born in Montreal, Canada in the fifties and grew up surrounded by books, home made radios and every issue of Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. He got himself a scholarship to McGill University in physics but at the last moment shifted his major to the arts. He was active in the anti-war movement and filmed documentaries on the Black Panthers. He directed plays, studied with John Grierson, the father of the documentary film and later became his assistant. After graduating, he moved to Toronto, worked as a master printmaker for the rare books library at University of Toronto, experimented with coupling the photographic processes to stone lithography and helped start a gallery (A-Space). He received Canada Council Grants, had many solo shows and became one of the first artists to work in laser holography. His success as a fine artist brought him to the attention of advertising agencies and fashion magazines and before long he moved to Milan and began a career as a fashion photographer for Italian Vogue. Jeremiah photographed editorial for Vogue and Harpers Bazaar as well as fashion and beauty campaigns worldwide eventually bringing him back to Canada to begin his evolution into film as he continued to work in photography but without exhibiting. Soon he moved to New York and began a meteoric ris...

Author Gerry Bowler joins Tim to discuss the story of Santa Claus. Gerry is the author of the book entitled, “Santa Claus: A Biography.” He talks about everything from Santa Claus’s birth and evolution over the centuries, to his role in modern day culture. Santa Claus the philanthropist, Santa Claus the gift giver, and Santa Claus the ad man. This episode was originally released on December 17, 2018. Parental warning: If your child believes in Santa Claus, you may not want him or her to listen. https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/shapingopinion/322_-_Encore_Santa_Claus.mp3 In his book Gerry details the birth of Santa Claus and his” character development.” Santa is described him as an advocate, an adman, a warrior, and of course his role in entertainment, from movies, television shows and in music, books and literature. St. Nicholas died in December 343 AD. By 1100, he was the most powerful saint on the Catholic Church’s calendar. The St. Nicholas legend: One father who was down and out couldn’t provide for his three daughters, so he decides to sell them into slavery. So, Nicholas would sneak bags of gold through the father’s window, saving the girls from a live of oppression. By the Middle Ages, with gift-giving a part of the Christmas season, different customs emerged. One that grew in popularity was the legend of St. Nicholas coming through a window or down a chimney to leave gifts in stockings and shoes by the fire, by a window or by a bed. By the 16th century, protestant reformers depicted medieval cult of saints. They did not readily embrace St. Nicholas. There was tension between the Protestant and Catholic sects and St. Nicholas was at the center of it. The controversies usually centered over how the communities marked Christmas. St. Nicholas was venerated throughout Europe but debate on whether he ever made it across the Atlantic to North America with gusto. The Feast of St. Nicholas is December 6, most notably marked by the Dutch, which paves the way for the modern celebration of Christmas. The earliest mention of Santa Claus was 1773 in Rivington’s Gazetteer, a New York Newspaper. On December 15, 1810, the New York Spectator published a poem about Sancte Claus – a good holy man who brings gifts to good children. The first picture of Santa Claus was published in 1821 when William Gilley of New York published a book of lithographed images with one of Santa Claus. “The Children’s Friend: a New Year’s Present, to Little Ones from Five to Twelve.” In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore was credited for authoring the classic poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” Other topics we discuss: Santa Claus in Books and Literature Santa Claus in Music Santa Claus in Advertising (We address the Coca-Cola Santa myth) Santa Claus in Motion Pictures and Television Links Santa Claus: A Biography, by Gerry Bowler (Amazon) A Visit from Saint Nicholas (Night Before Christmas), Clement Clarke Moore Saint Nicholas, Biography.com Coca-Cola and Santa Claus, Coca-Cola Company Saturday Evening Post and Santa Claus, Saturday Evening Post Miracle on 34th Street Motion Picture, IMDb St. Nicholas to Santa: The Surprising Origins of Mr. Claus, National Geographic About this Episode’s Guest Gerry Bowler Gerry Bowler is a Canadian historian, specializing in the intersection of religion and popular culture. He is the author of The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, Santa Claus: A Biography and Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday.