E.w. Conundrum's Troubadours And Raconteurs Podcast

Troubadours and Raconteurs, do you like wine, politics, Halloween, and donkeys as the autumn leaves color the sidewalks crisp with color? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 243 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is Almighty Todd our resident philosopher and wine aficionado. The Almighty and I discuss, as he sits on the back porch of his farmhouse in Stockbridge Vermont, a Load of Lumber, Wine Season, Deirdre Heekin, Push Downs, With Wine the Truth, the Soulessness Republicans, Moving Down into the Darkness, How We Raise Boys in the U.S., How Aloofness Leads to the Inability to Recognize Humanity, Autumn, Halloween, and His Donkeys. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Lemonade Stand." We share a Trump I.Q Test prepared for the New Yorker Magazine by Broti Gupta and Rebecca Caplan. We have a poem called "Halloweenie." Our music this week is provided by these w

Troubadours and Raconteurs, have you ever accosted a Northern Spotted Owl? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 242 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is Michael Harris, Legal Director of the Wildlife Law Program at Friends of Animals in Denver, Colorado. Attorney Harris and I discuss the Barred Owl Vs. the Northern Spotted Owl in the Pacific NorthWest, the History of Both Species of Owl, and Michael's Recent Argument in Front of the 9th Circuit Federal Appeals Court in Portland Oregon to Save the Barred Owl from Being Shotgunned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We also discuss Species Migration as a New Ecological Reality, Human Involvement in Species on Species Conflict, Climate Change, Old Growth Forests, the Migratory BIrd Treaty, the Endangered Species Act... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Gin." We share another poignant essay written and read by

Troubadours and Raconteurs, I love Middle Eastern food, do you? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 241 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure"Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest coming off a stellar performance in Manhattan is regular contributor singer, songwriter and good friend Rachel Lucille Woodworth. We discuss the Creative Process, Inspiration, Morning Music, Music as a Means of Time Travel, Displacement. Greek Day to Day Culture as Compared to that of the United States, Finding Melody, Negativity, What They Want You to Think, Who They Are, Connectedness, Mob Mentality, and Seeing the Big Picture among other things. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Cowardice." We share an excerpt from a short story by Franz Kafka titled "Description of a Struggle." We have a poem called "Twisted Figs." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, Ralph Sta

Troubadours and Raconteurs, Do you know the whole story of Christopher Columbus? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 240 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is the incomparable, acclaimed singer, songwriter, actress and community activist Nellie McKay. The New Yorker magazine has described Ms. McKay as “funny and touching, ceaselessly clever and scarily talented.” They also referred to her stage performance as "Brilliantly Subversive." Nellie has indulged an extended run in the award-winning off-Broadway hit "Old Hats" and has written three acclaimed musical biographies: "I Want to Live!, the story of Barbara Graham," - the third woman executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin; "Silent Spring: It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature" - an exploration of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson; and her latest, "A GIRL NAMED BILL – The Life and Times of Billy Tipton," - named one of the Best

Troubadours and Raconteurs, Happy October to you. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 239 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is long time contributor, artist, community activist, playwright Kitty Bell Burbank. Kitty Belle and I discuss Societal Shifts, Vietnam, Loss of Innocence, Freedom, Blind Patriotism, Black Lives Matter, Flaws of U.S. Media, "Fake" News, People Who Aren't As Important, Savage, Environmental Refugees, Her New Dystopian Play, How Art Helps with Anxiety... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Nirvana." We share an excerpt from Thomas Pynchon's masterpiece novel "Gravity's Rainbow." We have a poem called "Fringe." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, the Del Vikings. Built to Spill, Beth Orton, the Band, Charles Bradley, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Comm

Troubadours and Raconteurs, Happy Autumn to you. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 238 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is Chair and Co-Founder of Fair Districts Pa. Carol Kuniholm. Carol is also Vice President of Government and Social Policy on the state board of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. Carol and I discuss the History of Gerrymandering, Its Definition, How it Is Perpetrated, Whether the Republicans or Democrats are the Bigger Abusers, The Bills to Stop Gerrymanderiing in Pennsylvania's Congress that she had a Hand in Crafting, How Gerrymandering Contradicts and Stymies the Intent of Democracy, and the Prospects for Our Future... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Expectation." We have another piece titled "Flickers" beautifully crafted and wonderfully read by our Associate Producer and Resident Essayist Dr. Michael Pavese (a.k.a. Uncle C

Troubadours and Raconteurs, I hope all is well. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 237 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is long time contributor, and our resident historian Serf Wiliam. We discuss the Foundation Myths of the U.S. Slavery & Economics, Confederate Statutes, the Flaws of our Founding Fathers, Factory Work, War, Capitalism, Ronald Reagan, Millenials, Fighting the Good Fight & Staying Positive. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Neighborhood." We have a poem called "Harry Dean." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, Harry Dean Stanton, the English Beat, Yo Le Tango, Hop Along, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Radio at its Finest. Share this episode with whomever you choose. Episode 237 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure"

Troubadours and Raconteurs, We are BACK from our traditional August break to start a new season of quality radio programs. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 236 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania... Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is acclaimed essayist Timothy Kreider. Tim writes for the New York Times, The New Yorker, al Jazeera, The Week, the Men's Journal. He is thought of as one of this country's great essayists, compared to David Sedaris and David Foster Wallace. Tim is also an acclaimed cartoonist, best known for his work titled "The Pain... When Will It End?" Simon & Shuster published his first book of essays several years back titled "We Learn Nothing." The reviews were pretty wonderful. Tim just handed Simon & Shuster his second book of essays, a day before our conversation for this episode, due to be released on Valentine's Day. It is titled " I Wrote This Book Because I Love You" and has as its f

Troubadours and Raconteurs, We are BACK from our traditional August break to start a new season of quality radio programs. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 235 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. We initiate our return with long time regular contributor (and our resident sage) Almighty Todd. The Almighty and I discuss Mexican Bread in Houston, Labor Day, Unions, Robber Barrons, Drones, Societal Clash, Leaders (as oppossed to Elected Officals), a Decent Standard of Living, Ying Yang... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Quietly Listening." We also share an excerpt from Sinclair Lewis' great novel "Dodsworth." We have a poem called "Bekons You." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, the Temptations, Gil Scott Heron, Eric Bachmann, Okay Paddy, Neko Case,Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Radio at

Troubadours and Raconteurs, it's just about time for our August break but first... We have for your listening pleasure Episode 234 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. We feature a conversation with acclaimed poet, professor and publisher Philip Brady. We delve into these areas - When He Knew He Was a Poet, Inventing Words, Learning Poems By Heart, the Writing Process, Making and Remaking Your Mind, Yeats, Incredible Teachers, Peeling Away Layers of Distaste for Poetry, the Publishable Ones, Philip Shares One of His Pieces and Several of Those from His Favorite Writers, He Also Shares Some Insight for Writers the World Over... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Gong." We also share another poignant essay by Dr. Michael Pavese (aka Uncle Cesare) titled "The Librarian." We have a poem called "Porno Stunt." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli,

Troubadours and Raconteurs... How about a conversation today with a Grammy Award winner? We have for your listening pleasure Episode 233 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure." Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. We feature a conversation with (Grammy Award Winner) Vince Giordano. Mr. Giordano is a sought after musician/arranger/band leader by the likes of filmmakers Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Sam Mendes, and the list goes on... We discuss his early years learning alongside Ira Gershwin, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw and (once again) the list goes on. We talk about his archive of almost 67,000 arrangements and 37,000 pieces of sheet music preserving the history of American Jazz Standards. The movie scores he's crafted for The Aviator and Boardwalk Empire (Martin Scorsese), The Good Shepard (Robert DeNiro), Cafe Society (Woody Allen), Away We Go (Sam Mendes). We discuss the documentary recently released about his work called "Vince Giordano, There'

Troubadours and Raconteurs...Happy July. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 232 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure". Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. We feature a conversation with author David Hicks. David and I discuss his critically acclaimed novel "White Plains", His Influences, Fatherhood, the Craft of Storytelling, the Importance of Reading and Writing to Society, and His Next Novel. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "To Say." We also share a wonderful essay by Dr. Michael Pavese (aka Uncle Cesare) titled "Tillie." We have a poem called "Living." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, Peter Gabriel, Peter Perret, Washed Out, Mink De Ville, Hugh Masekela, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Radio at its Finest. Share this episode with whomever you choose. Tell your Friends and Neighbors... Become a friend via facebook - F

Troubadours and Raconteurs... I've been in one of the best states in the union for the last few days (Vermont) spending time with our regular contributor Almighty Todd on his farm doing research for a future segment. I had a wonderful conversation earlier in the week with another of our regular contributors Kitty Belle Burbank that is featured on today's program. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 231 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" on radio. Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. Kitty Belle and I talk about Courage, Fear, Privilege, Shadows, The Brain in Your Stomach, Childhood, Why She Writes Plays, Summertime... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Courage." We also share a wonderful essay by Emma Rathbone titled "Before the Internet." We have a poem called "Shadow." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Django Reinhardt, Stephan Grapelli, Hop Along, Craig Finn, Mink De Ville, Branford Marsalis, a

Troubadours and Raconteurs... It's getting hot up and down the line in this neck of the woods. I hope all is well for you and yours. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 230 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure". Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. Our featured guest this week is Activist Poet, Charlotte. We talk about the White Pine Camp Resistance, Billions of Dollars, Neighbors and Family Members Struggling to Coexist, Water Resources, Livestock, the Strike of 1907 on Lackawanna & Spruce, and a Dystopian Dance Party in July. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Calamity." We also share a wonderful essay by Hallie Cantor titled "The Writer's Process." We have a poem called "Bob." Our music this week is provided by these wonderful artists: Paul Pinto, Lucas Steele, Nick Choksi, Eddie Brickell and the New Bohemians, SlothRust, 10,000 Maniacs, Pearl Jam, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Ra

Troubadours and Raconteurs... Happy June. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 229 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure" Crafted In North Eastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is Fulbright Scholar, Highly Acclaimed Musical Artist, Activist, Writer, Philosopher, and Impresario Todd Tongdee Lavelle. We discuss His Journey from Scranton Pennsylvania to Thailand, His Research of Medicinal Herbs, His Work with Political Refugees, War, Love, Death, Lies, Laughter, Hope, America's Fake Confidence, the Mekong River, Music and more. This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Covfefe." We also share another poignant essay written and read by our Associate Producer Dr. Michael Pavese (aka Uncle Cesare) titled "Spinsters." We share a poem called "Stellar Amica." This week's music is provided by these wonderful artists: Paul Simon, The Allman Brothers, Todd Tongdee Lavelle, Patsy Cline, Lauryn Hill, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard

Troubadours and Raconteurs... Hello. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 228 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure". Crafted In NorthEastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is our resident historian and political analyst Serf William. We discuss the History of Memorial Day, Whether We Honor Its True Intent, The Unraveling of the Republic, the Tax Plan, the Boogie Man, We Follow the Money, Is 45 a Good American, the Rosenbergs, War as a Class Struggle... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "Memorials." We also share an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece "Slaughterhouse-Five" We share a poem called "Corncob." This week's music is provided by these wonderful artists: Michael Franti, the White Stripes, the Andrew Sisters, Soundgarden, Leon Bridges, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Radio at its Finest. Share this episode with whomever you choose. Become a friend via facebook - Freespeak

Troubadours and Raconteurs... Proms, Graduations, Landscapers, and Dramatic Headlines in the Daily Newspapers. Perhaps as an extra treat, we have for your listening pleasure the complete Episode 227 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure". Crafted In NorthEastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is violinist and mask maker Alberto Villalobos. We talk with Alberto about his artistic journey from Mexico to Europe, and now for the last twelve years as a NYC based artist. He has a world renowned musical group with his two brothers called the Villalobos Brothers. Alberto also is a visual artist. We discuss his most ambitous and poignant installment to date titled "Hombres de Arcilla (Men In Clay)" at The Point Gallery in the South Bronx. It involves 43 masks he created in honor of and to remember 43 college students who disappeared while in the hands of the local police outside of Mexico City just over two years ago. We also discuss Courage, Brotherhood, Sister

Troubadours and Raconteurs... I hope you are in a good way. We have for your listening pleasure Episode 226 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demure". Crafted In NorthEastern Pennsylvania, Heard All Over The World. This week's featured guest is a long time contributor to the program , my good friend Almighty Todd. We discuss a recent trip he took to Quebec City, Fiords, Glaciers, Alaska, Wine Making, Asian Thought Juxtaposed with D.C. Political Machinations, the Harmony of Life... This week's sixty minutes includes an EW Essay titled "FTE Surreptitiously." We share an excerpt from the Buddhist text Dhammapada. We also share a poem titled "Viva." This week's music is provided by these wonderful artists: Willy Mason, Rage Against the Machine, Nick Lowe, Cee Lo Green, the Kossoy Sisters, Branford Marsalis, and Terrence Blanchard. Commercial Free, Community Radio at its Finest. Share this episode with whomever you choose. Episode 226 of "Troubadours and Raconteurs with E.W. Conundrum Demu