11:02AM
No Hugh this week, but Dennis Prager live Monday
Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 11:02AM Sean will provide linkages as they come up.
I taped the two back-to-back with Hugh to cover his recent trip overseas, but when he got back, schedule conflicts prevailed, so we're hoping to hook back up with him next week after the two-week layoff.
Beside linking up with Hugh, I will do Dennis Prager's show live at 2pm EST on Monday, the 23rd.
Any advice from regular listeners?
Reader Comments (1)
I'm a huge Dennis Prager fan and have been chewing on the idea of emailing him to get you on his show. I haven't missed a podcast of his since 2005. Not a single one (although I am behind, getting caught up.) And, I'm a regular contributor, follower, fan of yours too. I browse YouTube for your videos and read your blog and weekly articles, so I think I may have some good tips of you..
As much as I love Prager, one draw back is that he doesn't read a book before he does an interview. I'm hoping he or his producer watches one of your video briefs over the weekend. He says he works better this way because the questions are more natural. It usually works, but sometimes he can either stray into current events or get caught up on one minor point without realizing that he'd REALLY be interested in points a, b or c in your book if he'd read it. Hewitt really is the best in the field, so it's not fair to compare (they're good friends if that matters to anyone). The upshot is that if it goes well, expect a second interview because he'll also feel that a lot was left not talked about.
That said, there is some major common ground that I think will make for a great interview.* #1, Prager looks at things in moral terms and I'd love to get his perspective on the end of PNM "Myth of America as Globocop" and "Myth of American Empire." Both of you see America as a force for moral good in this world and that would be a great starting point.* Prager did his graduate work at Columbia studying the Soviet Union (Russian and Mid-East Institute, Columbia University School of International Affairs.) Like you, he thought that after fall of the USSR, his studies would be wasted but finds them more relevant every day.* Like you, Prager is a huge critic of the "boomer" generation. He might fall under your critique of that generation looking at things in a zero-sum fashion, but I think is open enough to see your point.* Mention how military conflicts and war have been on the decline over the past 30 years. Many younger people seem to think that we live in an age of more war and fighting than ever before. I know he'll be blown away by that. Not that he won't believe it, he'll just provide his own observations on it.* With his fascination of religion, I KNOW he'll be blown away by your reporting that more people attend mass every Sunday in China than in the US (that is your quote right?). Also, your figures at how religion and evangelical work around the globe is on the rise will be of interest to him. One thing he fears is a totally secular world, and it's certainly a concern he has about China. Not many people know about religion's rise there.
More so than Hugh, Prager is a "big picture" guy and not so much into the nitty gritty, day-to-day news cycle. Often, he'll devote an hour to a news item that's 2 weeks old and it's still a good show if you listen to it a month late. I'm a fan, so I'm biased, but my point is that he'll eat up your work because you also look at the "big picture".
Your hardest sell will be your opinion that Iran needs to be a partner in the Gulf. If you frame it in terms of how similar it is to when we partnered with Stalin during WW2, or how we currently partner with Pakistan, you might have a starting point.
Most importantly, his moto is "Clarity over Agreement" so he'd rather clearly detail where you see the world differently than try to prove you wrong.