In the past, I know that’s I’ve posted several reviews of outstanding books–at least I thought they were outstanding. Actually some of the best books I’ve read in the past have come from a radio program that I’ve listened to for the past 20 years. No, it’s not one of the loud call-in radio talk-shows. Those rarely have any interesting information–just rehashing what’s been said all day and doing it loudly, as if the higher the decibel the more important they are.😵‍💫 No, it’s CBS Eye On The World with John Batchelor (it used to be The John Batchelor Show)

Born in Bryn Mawr, PA, in 1948 Mr. Batchelor graduated from Princeton University and the Union Theological Seminary, but ultimately because an author who wrote some excellent political novels. I first heard him and his colleague, Paul Alexander, on the weekends when they discussing a wide range of topics with interesting guests. I happened to tune in on Saturday, September 8, 2001, when they were talking about the USS Cole-who might have cause the explosion and why the perpetrators hadn’t been caught. The name “al Qada” came up a number of time during their interviews with people in the military, diplomats and people in both US and foreign politics. According to Batchelor, three days later, on the afternoon of 9/11, he got a phone call from WABC. They remembered the discussions from last Saturday. Did he know what this al Qada group was? Well, he’d done a tremendous amount of prep work for their interviews so he had at least a passing understanding. OK–we want you to got on tonight. (And except for about two years he’s been six days a week ever since.)

Like most of us, I clearly remember the following days. Given my job, I did have some information on al Qada, but almost no one on radio or TV had a clue. Most of them were parroting everyone else, and I spent too much time yelling back at them. In a world turned upside down, it was actually a calming feeling to hear Batchelor interview people who knew so much more than most people, including myself, about bin Laden’s group and at least some of what was going on both in New York, and the rest of the country. He really did get thrown into the deep end, but very quickly developed his own style. Since then he’s been listened to by literally millions of people each night (10pm-1am), because they want to hear an ongoing, and respectful, dialogue between interesting people on interesting topics.

Eye on the World is a smart, nuanced discussion–sometimes called the BBC with an American accent, or NPR on steroids. Whatever. Mr. Batchelor makes you think, and I believe that thinking is a good thing! You become familiar with people from Colombia to Azerbaijan. War correspondents. People doing solid work on climate change and space exploration. People involved in our own national debates. Medical professionals with up-to-date information on the virus. I’ve suggested that my students listen to him. I’ve brought segments up when appropriate with family members and colleagues, and many have become ardent listeners too.

Now, I will confess that I don’t stay up till 1 am every morning. That’s why Podcasts are a wonderful thing.😇 I can listen to all three hours in the course of the day. Below I’ve found a video of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I’ll be interested to see what he does on the 20th anniversary.

<a href=”http://https://www.c-span.org/video/standalone/?200850-1/qa-john-batchelorJohn Batchelor