TruthInPolitics

Distinguished actor Mark Pellegrino joins us to detail his life in Hollywood, any exciting developments in TV and/or film, and the general state of the culture. Join us--because this will be fun!

Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses," has had a fatwa on him for decades. Recently he was assaulted by a young Islamic man. Our Leftist regime and media, presumably disappointed that the perpetrator was not a white supremacist, refused at first to divulge his identity. There are two stories here: Islam's war on freedom of speech--and the media's war on truth-telling.

From both ends of the political spectrum, individual rights are under assault. Is one side worse than the other? Can Americans concerned to protect their rights legitimately support one or the other faction? Is there, in practice, a lesser of two evils? Attorney Nicholas Provenzo joins us to discuss these controversial questions.

The Left is obsessed with the idea of 21st century systemic American racism. Are they right? Or are they wrong? We go looking for the racism--and the white supremacists--in the American system. We will integrate into this examination discussion of artistic works on the theme of racism. For example, the great 1960 Western "The Unforgiven" was directed by John Huston; it starred Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn. It trenchantly explored the themes of both racism and its antidote. This is the main question: What is the cure for racism wherever it rears its hideous head, in America or abroad? This is the primary question we seek to answer.

"How The West Was Won" is more than a great film. It is an American epic. Homer composed "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," the epic poems of Greek civilization. Virgil's "Aeneid" did the same for the Romans. This movie captures the essence of the distinctively optimistic nature of American heroism. Its focus is on conquering a continent, not on conquering a rival city or tribe. It emphasizes the can-do American spirit that, in a century, transformed a trackless wilderness into history's most advanced civilization. Today, sixty years after its filming, we can recognize that this movie captures the essence of America more accurately and completely than any other movie ever made. It is the American epic.

The essence of Americanism is the principle of individual rights. This principle, when acted on, is what makes the US the greatest nation in history. American conservatives, on some issues, uphold this principle. But, based on their religious beliefs, they deny to pregnant women the right to abortion. Further, Justice Clarence Thomas of SCOTUS, long one of the best of the conservatives, in his recent published opinion, urged SCOTUS to overturn rulings that legalized gay marriage, sodomy, and contraception. Such rulings would constitute major violations of the right of consenting adults to conduct their sex lives as they see fit, thereby abrogating an American individual's inalienable right "to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Join us as we stand up for the sacred moral principle of individual rights now under assault by conservatives.

The essence of America is individualism. Therefore, the "great American novel" necessarily focuses on this theme. No novel has ever done this as brilliantly as Ayn Rand's epic, "The Fountainhead." It features one of the great heroes in world literature--Howard Roark; the most complex heroine--Dominique Francon; the most nefarious villain--Ellsworth Toohey; one of the great tragic figures--Gail Wynand; and a superb foil--Peter Keating. From these characters, Rand builds a sizzling conflict that perfectly dramatizes a profoundly life-giving theme: Individualism versus collectivism, not in politics but in men's souls. Join us on "Truth in Culture and Politics" when we discuss this superlative work of literary art.

No rational case for abortion rights can be made in the absence of the principle of individual rights. Leftists, who reject individualism for collectivism, make a very weak case for the right to abortion. Conservatives, who profess to embrace individual rights regarding other issues, reject it in this case. What is the rational case for the right to abortion? What are the errors of the anti-abortion side? Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin address these questions on "Truth in Culture and Politics."

The question of gun control is: Does the rate of violent crime, including the homicide rate, go up or down after and because of gun control? To answer this question, we need two fields of knowledge: 1. the empirical data from gun-controlled areas and nations 2. the principles that explain the data. We need to get the answer right, and then found our policy in the accurate answer. Innocent human lives are at stake--many of them. This is the issue to be discussed by Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin on Truth in Culture and Politics."

"Top Gun: Maverick" is more than just an exciting US Navy thriller. It is a significant event in the culture wars. It celebrates America and heroism; additionally, it repudiates toxic leftism and glorifies testosterone-coursing masculinity. In so doing, it has the triumphant feel of a John Wayne Western, where the good guys always pound the bad guys to a frazzle. What does its box office success tell us about the American people's craving for heroism? What does the box office failure of "woke" Hollywood films tell us about the American people's attitude toward leftist propaganda? Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin discuss these culture war questions on our next show.

The Department of Homeland Security--a law enforcement agency--now has a new division to combat the spread of disinformation/misinformation. This means that the government now decides what is true and what is false, what can be spoken and what cannot be spoken, what voices may be heard and which ones are forbidden. The exact term for such a practice is "censorship." Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin analyze this terrifying development and discuss the steps for honest Americans must take to defeat it.

Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin take on the urgent issues of the day, including education, its problems and solutions, and Bernstein's forthcoming book, "Why Johnny Still Can't Read"; the disastrous war in Ukraine; increasing inflation; the "woke" Left's war on children and their parents; Fawstin's continuing battle for free speech; and a plethora of movies both current and older ones available on streaming services. Audience members are encouraged to chime in with questions and comments that will be discussed by the hosts.

Liberalism properly means support for liberty, for individual rights. But the Left, intellectually captive to Marxism and Post-Modernism, has perverted the meaning of the term and opposes individual rights on all policy issues. How did this happen? What are the baleful consequences today and for the foreseeable future? What can liberty lovers do to oppose these monsters? These are the questions to be discussed by Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin.

Whether via elementary school classes, books, or Disney films, the Left insists on introducing young children to sexual content. What is the effect of teaching kids about sex long before they have reached puberty? Why insist on teaching young children about homosexuality? Is sex education the proper province of the schools--or should it be left to the parents? Would the children be better off if the schools taught them reading, writing math, and history, rather than sex ed? These and other questions will be discussed by Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin on "Truth in Culture and Politics."

In 1915, in the closing years of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks slaughtered a minimum of 1,000,000 innocent Armenian civilians. The term "genocide," an attempt to annihilate an entire ethnic group, was coined in reference to this atrocity. Today, more than a century later, the Turkish regime still denies culpability. What were the causes of this massive crime? Why is it so rarely discussed today? What lessons can be learned from it? Arshak Benlian joins Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin to answer these questions.

Robert Spencer, noted Islam scholar, joins us to discuss the war against Western Civilization fought by jihadists and their secular allies on the Left. This will be a brutally honest dissection of those who seek to destroy freedom and civilization--and of what rational human beings can do about it.

King Midas had the golden touch--everything with which he came into contact turned to precious metal. Joe Biden has the opposite--he has the filth touch. Everything he touches turns to excrement. At the one year mark, his has been a regime of epic ineptitude. He makes Jimmy Carter, the previous doyen of fecklessness, look like General George Patton by comparison. To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett: "How have I failed thee? Let me count the ways." Chime into the chat and apprise us of your favorite moments from the Democratic Clown Show now playing across the land.

Leftist hysteria regarding the "insurrection" of January 6, 2021 never ends. And yet, more than a year later, none of the perpetrators have been charged with insurrection. Why? What is an insurrection? Do the perpetrators of the 1/6/21 event meet the criteria? What, in justice, should be done with them? What is the truth about this event? And is the Leftist portrayal of it nothing but a riot of lies? These are the questions to be discussed by Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin.

What is the story of the new movies, "American Underdog" and "Licorice Pizza?" Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin are your film critics on "Truth in Culture and Politics," a current day, Objectivist Siskel and Ebert. This will be a freewheeling discussion in which they branch out into other movies, comedy, politics, books, education, and love. Nothing is sacred to these two madcap iconoclasts. Join them in riotous but serious fun as they skewer the irrational and celebrate the heroic.

Marvel has lost its mind. It's made an un-woke super hero movie that abandons doctrinaire Leftist preaching for unadulterated superhero entertainment. What, did Marvel discover the idea that superhero movies are supposed to be fun? If so, what a concept! Join Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin for a lively discussion of the movie, of its money-making appeal, and of what its popularity tells us about film-viewing audiences.

The universities are often a cesspool of Leftist propaganda and of "cancel culture" that will harass and/or fire a professor for expressing dissenting convictions. But perhaps there is hope. A number of leading scholars plan to found the University of Austin. It will embody the peculiar idea that, in higher education, we should be free to ask any question, to discuss any theory, to intellectually challenge any authority. The great scientist, Richard Feynman, once said: "I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned." Exactly right. Will the University of Austin and its commitment to freedom of intellectual expression be able to succeed? If so, might it have a salutary impact on higher education in this country? These are the questions to be discussed by Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin.

Truth in Culture--but no politics tonight. We have movies to discuss, books to recommend, sports heroes to celebrate, comic books to glorify...and much more. All culture all the time. Tune in, comment, question, and join the show. This will be a freewheeling, unscripted episode and we look forward to sharing the love with our audience.

There are many issues to discuss: Movies, education, sports, politics, crime, jury trials, audience questions, and more. Tune in and join the show by asking questions and/or raising comments. This will be a fun episode.

Leftists utterly control American intellectual culture. They hate capitalism, seek to destroy it and replace it with socialism. Indeed they move regressively toward Communism. Does capitalism have a future? Mark Da Cunha, editor and publisher of "capitalismmagazine.com, joins Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin to discuss this critical question.

There are many trials in which a defendant is acquitted of murder charges on the grounds of self-defense. But the Rittenhouse case created a furor. Why? Why so much outrage on both sides of this case? What was really on trial in this case? What is the meaning of it? These are the questions that Andrew Bernstein and Bosch Fawstin discuss on this episode.