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Modern societies often define themselves through a commitment to reducing unnecessary violence. Across law, culture, and moral discourse, the killing of humans is treated as one of the most serious ethical violations. Yet at the same time, these same societies rely on systems that produce and normalize the large-scale killing of sentient animals for food, convenience, and profit. This creates a central tension: violence is morally condemned in principle, but industrialized when directed at nonhuman life. The question is not simply whether humans should eat meat, but how a civilization that claims to reject unnecessary suffering came to organize such suffering on an industrial scale while rendering it socially invisible.
We are all ready to vomit out a primal scream, a cri de coeur of rage and of fury, as so many people are allowing themselves to be beguiled by their own government. We have become, as C.S. Lewis wrote, “men without chests.”
Before facts have time to settle, the mirror machinery of politics is activated. Before evidence is weighed, the labels arrive. Before truth has a chance to breathe, the soulless spin doctors are already hard at work manufacturing certainty for their chosen audience. Too many people are trained to consume it without hesitation, without skepticism, without a mind. No patience. No demand for evidence. Just reflexive tribal belief.
If Donald Trump seriously wants a second career after he destroys the United States and a large part of the world he would be well advised to consider becoming a stand-up comedian. He already possesses a huge supply of jokes consisting of his off-the-wall ad-libs when responding to reporters and the public. Most of his remarks that are not out-and-out lies are insulting and/or incoherent and would in any event be better considered as humorous observations on the deplorable state of politics in America than as serious commentary coming from a respected head of state.
Dr. Bob and Dan-o Dougan play some long songs that tell a story from Frankie and Johnny to Italian Restaurant. And Bullfrog Blues, plus more!
Listen live at 11pm Fridays, May 31 and June 5, and Mondays at 10am June 1 and 8, streaming at wgrn.org or on the radio at 91.9FM
and
Mondays at 2pm streaming June 1 and 8 at wcrsfm.org or on the radio at 92.7 or 98.3FM.
We are often quick to complain when people do wrong, yet slow to say “thank you” when people do extraordinarily good. Today, I want to give credit where it is due by shedding light on Zohar Regev, the former Israeli hostage, for her sacrifices and long history of defending the people of Palestine. No, she was not held captive in Gaza, but rather in Israel just 10 days ago. In my view, this Israeli woman has a heart of gold. Here is why.
Who Is Zohar Regev?
She was born and raised in the Israeli kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh—established on land in historic Palestine near Nazareth—into a secular Jewish family. She grew up inside the very system that took Palestinian land and continues, as of this writing, the genocide in Gaza. For most of her life, she was an atheist who never believed in Judaism as a religion.
Later, she moved to Nazareth and lived among Palestinians, where she witnessed firsthand the harsh treatment they endured under occupation.
Two and a half years later, she made the conscious and entirely voluntary decision to embrace Islam. From that moment on, she dedicated her life to defending the truth with every ounce of strength she possessed.
For those unfamiliar with the intricate machinery of Israeli politics, the unanimous 110-0 vote to dissolve the Knesset on May 20 appears to be an earth-shattering event. On the surface, it looks as if the days of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of far-right extremists are numbered. The reality, however, is far more complex.
Israel’s current political implosion is fundamentally tied to its failure to escape the ghosts of October 7. When the country's military defenses collapsed on that day, Israel was transformed from a state with a formidable reputation as an invincible regional superpower into one trapped with a struggling army, structurally incapable of decisively winning a single war.
Appropriated from the 1955 cult classic titled Rebel Without a Cause starring bad boy James Dean and Natalie Wood, Rita Coburn’s 2026 PBS documentary of W.E.B. DuBois: Rebel with a Cause is a well-done biopic of one of the 20th century’s foremost intellectuals. But despite some glowing reviews, it is not particularly groundbreaking, especially for those who are familiar with Louis Massiah’s late 1990’s W.E.B. DuBois: A Biography in Four Voices. That work is sectioned into four eras, with each period written and narrated by a well-known African American intellectual/writer. A People magazine reviewer wrote that in Coburn’s documentary DuBois “gets a long-overdue close-up.” Nothing could be further from the truth, unless the writer is referring to the very personal aspects of DuBois’s life that were included in the film but adds little to one’s understanding of the things for which DuBois stood and was best known. In this writer’s opinion, some things are not for public consumption and should be left private.
