Advice goddess Amy Alkon is one lady you do not want to mess with. Hear tales of her revenge against telemarketing companies, cell phone abusers, permissive parents and the thief who stole her pink car! (Who steals a pink car?) Her new book is I See Rude People: One woman’s battle to beat some manners into impolite society.
 

It was the blog post heard ‘round the world. When Charles Johnson wrote Why I Parted Ways With The Right in the space of a few minutes and posted it on his popular Little Green Footballs blog, he had no idea the firestorm it would set off. Nasty denunciations, death threats and a New York Times magazine feature article later, Charles Johnson joined me for a discussion of the right wing flame war directed at him, the Darwin-hating, know-nothing Creationists and the frenzied insanity (and racism) of the anti-Obama right. Part one is here. In case you are wondering if some of the comments are being removed, they are. Some of them go too far. We didn’t pull them because Charles asked us to. We’ve removed them because they don’t belong here, okay?
 

It was the blog post heard ‘round the world. When Charles Johnson wrote Why I Parted Ways With The Right in the space of a few minutes and posted it on his popular Little Green Footballs blog, he had no idea the firestorm it would set off. Nasty denunciations, death threats and a New York Times magazine feature article later, Charles Johnson joined me for a lively discussion about what happened to him, the Darwin-hating, know-nothing Creationists and the frenzied insanity (and racism) of the anti-Obama right. Part one of two.
 

Dr. James Hansen, the nation’s leading scientist on climate issues speaks out with the full truth about global warming. His new book is titled Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity. One day there will be statues in honor of James Hansen. Let’s just hope they don’t end up like the Statue of Liberty did in Planet of the Apes. Dr. Hansen is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
 

Multi-disciplinary artist Rachel Rosenthal is one of America greatest living creators, truly a national treasure—although she chided me for saying this! For much of the past decade, we haven’t heard much from her, but now she has a new book, The DbD Experience (about her unorthodox teaching methods) and starting this weekend, Rachel Rosenthal is unveiling her new company, TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theater Ensemble in Los Angeles for three totally improvised performances on the 19th, 20th and 21st. Monthly performances after that.
Tickets at www.rachelrosenthal.org.

The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America. Original and necessary scholarship, one of the best books of the season. An in-depth interview with author Don Lattin.

Jon Reiss has been a pioneer of DIY film-making since the punk era and he shares what he’s learned in his new book, Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era.

Second installment of a two-part, in-depth conversation with cultural engineer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge on the occasion of the publication of THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testameant, a compendium of Gen’s writing on magick, the occult and sexuality. Part one is here.

Happy 2010! We’re starting off the new decade right with the first installment of a two-part, in-depth conversation with cultural engineer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge on the occasion of the publication of THEE PSYCHICK BIBLE: A New Testameant, a compendium of Gen’s writing on magick, the occult and sexuality. Part two will be posted next week.

In honor of David Tennant’s final Doctor Who episodes, here’s a repeat of Richard’s interview with the outgoing Time Lord and Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies, shot at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA in early August for Boing Boing Video. Read the original entry here. Dangerous Minds returns in the new year with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

Part 2 of my interview with Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor, the legendary Firesign Theater. In the 60s and 70s, The Firesign Theatre’s smart, anarchic—and decidedly psychedelic—“theater of the mind” was embraced by the era’s counterculture. Their mind-bending humor paved the way for Cheech & Chong, Saturday Night Live and The National Lampoon. www.firesigntheatre.com

Author Charles Hugh Smith discusses his latest book Survival+, an indispensable guide to understanding global turmoil and transformation, weaving a full spectrum of intellectual disciplines—history, political economy, ecology, energy demands, marketing, investing, health and the psychology of happiness—into a uniquely comprehensive book that offers practical principles, not just for surviving, but prospering in the difficult decades ahead.
 

For the first time in a very long time, an interview with Philip Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor, the legendary Firesign Theater. (Jan 8 & 9, 2010 shows in Whidbey Island, Washington, see www.firesigntheatre.com for more information)
 

Michael Panzner is the author of the new best-seller, When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era. He’s a former Wall Street insider himself and one of the very, very first writers to accurately predict where the economy was headed in his 2007 book Financial Armageddon. His views are refreshingly “agnostic” when it comes to matters of liberal vs conservative, and this prevents his analysis from being muddled by an ideological lens. Visit his Financial Armageddon blog. (Note: There are several spots of troublesome audio, but it’s worth getting past them to hear what Michael has to say in this fascinating discussion.)

Duncan Laurie, author of The Secret Art, is one of the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s foremost experts on the ?¢‚Ǩ?ìforbidden science?¢‚Ǩ¬ù of radionics. Some of you may recall Duncan from the Disinformation TV show. He?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s the genteel mad scientist/artist from Jamestown, Rhode Island who looks like Harrison Ford and who works in laboratory housed in a glass building. In 2000 I recorded an interview with Duncan where he demonstrated the subtle energy exchange between plants and his mind-blowing collection of radionics devices. Fascinating stuff. He?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s an amazing person with an amazing mind. Besides being an artist, Duncan designs all manner of radionic devices himself, such as radionic socks that make wishes come true?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùyou walk around on the radionic circuitry printed on the socks?¢‚Ǩ‚Äùand the Purr Generator that utilizes the healing properties of a cat?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s purr and amplifies these healing properties electronically to help people relax and lower blood pressure.

(Part 1 is here) In which Philip, Peter and Richard discuss the upcoming Firesign Theatre shows in Los Angeles (buy tickets here), the future, conspiracy theories and why everything you know is wrong, the health care debate and why the birthers are actually right about one thing: Obama IS an alien (from outer space. Peter’s got the proof).
 

(Part I) In which P&B announce the upcoming Firesign shows in LA (buy tickets here), Richard reveals himself to be a “baby of the Firesign Theatre” (it’s true!),  Phil tells how the Firesign Theatre were the original computer hackers and we discover why Surrealism makes you smarter. As Peter says near the end, “You either never heard of us, or you have us memorized.” I fall into the latter camp and this one is for all my fellow Bozos on this Bus. I have done hundreds of interviews in my career and this one is in my top five favorites. Hopefully, schedules permitting, I’ll be speaking to all four Firesign Theatre members next month. Stayed tuned for Part II next week. (You can listen to David Ossman and Phil Austin on Air America recently here)

The Process was the apocalyptic shadow side of the flower-powered 60s and perhaps the most notorious cult of modern times. Timothy Wyllie was the first member and the art director of the cult’s magazine. The group’s apocalyptic theology brought on accusations of sinister conspiracies as scores of black-cloaked devotees swept the streets of London, NY, New Orleans and other cities selling magazines with titles likes Love, Fear, Sex and Death. Timothy Wyllie is the author of Love, Sex, Fear, Death published by Feral House.

Richard Metzger interviews Joe Bageant, author of the (excellent!) book, Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War. Joe offers insight into American redneck culture and tries to explain Birthers, tea baggers and how Republicans have become so infernally adept at convincing working class Americans to vote against their own self-interest, like now, with the health care debate. Do not miss this one. Furthermore do not miss Deer Hunting with Jesus, it’s essential reading if you want to understand the deeply ingrained psychological complexities that make up modern America, whether you are American yourself or not.

Richard Metzger interviews outgoing Timelord David Tennant and former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T. Davies at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena, CA for Boing Boing Video.

“I’m one of those guys who downloads Doctor Who and Torchwood within seconds of them hitting the torrent trackers. Just a few hours after they air in the UK, I’m watching them in Los Angeles. My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year and I said “A new Doctor Who episode, but I’m getting that already.” That’s how much I love the show (She’s a fan too, but drew the line at me using the TARDIS landing for my ring tone).

“So it was great fun for me to meet Russell and David. A real treat. They’re both friendly, charismatic guys who who were really easy to interview. They clearly enjoy each others company and there was a nice, loose banter between them that I think will be fun for the fans to watch here. They’ve got their double act down pat, let’s just say.

“This interview took place at an interesting moment in time for both men as they’ve only just left behind their respective starring roles in one of the biggest television successes in the world today. As difficult as that may sound, you can only imagine how much pressure is off them after four years of practically non-stop work. I think it shows in this interview, as they’re both very relaxed and jovial. David had just come from Comic Con where he was treated with fan adulation bordering on Beatlemania and Russell is starting a new phase of his life here in Los Angeles. The week we shot this he was just coming off the double whammy career high of Torchwood practically *taking over* British television for an entire week with his brilliant Children of Earth mini-series (read my review here) and then seeing it launch BBC America’s new HD service with a resounding success right afterward here. How lucky Hollywood is to have Britain’s answer to Rod Serling in such close proximity these days and I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re reading in Variety what David Tennant will do next. He’s an interesting actor and a lot of big people will want to work with him, so expect that it will be something worth watching! Like I say, I think it’s an interesting glimpse into a transitional time for both David and Russell and these were the questions that I wanted to ask them, not as a journalist on assignment, but as a big Doctor Who fan (“David, isn’t leaving Doctor Who like Sean Connery quitting James Bond?”), so I hope other Who fans around the world will enjoy this as much as I did.”