Added 6.26.18. Wars: they just don’t make ’em like they used to. Milt explores the wars of antiquity with noted historian John Lendon of the University of Virginia. Lendon is author of, among other things, the book “Song of Wrath: The Peloponnesian War.” Milt and Lendon traverse a range of related topics, including ancient Greek history and historians, the tensions between Athens and Sparta, and the role of honor in provoking war. The conversation leads into more contemporary history, and the contours of war in the 20th Century and today.

Added 6.26.18. True, four of the last seven governors of Illinois have gone to jail. And Chicago has long been a leading-edge laboratory of institutionalized political corruption. But don’t overlook the suburbs. Developing this theme further – with plenty of additional insight on state and Chicago corruption – are Milt’s two guests, in this 2012 episode. They are Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman who is chair of the political science department at University of Illinois, Chicago; and David Ellis, former chief counsel to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and lead prosecutor of now-jailed former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Simpson reports on findings of a new report he spearheaded, that “corruption is rife” in 61 Chicago suburbs.

Added 6.12.18. Bite into this: in-vitro meat as a real-meat, more-humane alternative to fare from the slaughterhouse.  More ostrich meat in your diet, along with fish raised indoors, and tasty, satisfying wheat-less bread “baked” through fermentation of raw ingredients. Let’s chew on a few more things. How do we make tomatoes great again, and advance real sustainability in the way we foster the world’s food supply, all as cooking becomes more an intersection of art and science – rather than just an art, as in years past? The food of the future and the future of food are closely intertwined, as Milt and his guests reveal in this 2010 conversation. Guests are Josh Schoenwald, author of “The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches From The Future Of Food;” Chef Chris Koetke, Vice-President of Strategy and Industry Relations at Kendall College and its School of Culinary Arts, and the late Chef Homaro Cantu, who trained with the legendary and innovative Chef Charlie Trotter, and later opened the restaurants Moto and iNG in Chicago.

Added 6.12.18. Milt in this 2011 interview debriefs Sara Anson Vaux, who taught religious studies and film at Northwestern University and authored the treatise, “The Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood.” She contends Eastwood’s films, while broadly understood to be ripping good stories, also cover important ethical, religious, and philosophical grounds which should not be given short shrift. She and Milt delve into motifs in Eastwood’s ouvre including divine judgement and the hereafter, reconciling terrible misfortune with a divine presence, and the moral implications of war. The proceedings are further enlivened by audio clips of various signal moments from some of the Eastwood films under discussion.

Added 6.12.18. Foreshadowing much of the current conversation about the Middle East, Milt plus guests Charles Lipson and Laith Saud explore pressing questions such as, do Israel and Iran actually have any real intention of working out their differences, or is all the rhetorical jousting really just for political affect? How should Israel think about compromise with Palestine while still preserving the Israeli state? Is Israel less a “Jewish” state than a modern, vibrant and pluralistic democracy? Is the dichotomy between Sunni and Shia Arabs greatly overplayed? What role does Islamic fundamentalism continue to play in the Middle East? Does not the U.S. allow for easier assimilation by Arab immigrants than, say, France, because its jobs and housing markets are markedly more open? This and much more is on the table. Lipson is a distinguished expert on foreign affairs, prolific writer, and former chair of the political science department at the University of Chicago. Saud brings a unique perspective to the conversation, having been born in Iraq and migrated with his parents to the U.S. at an early age. He is an assistant professor of religious studies at DePaul University, and founder of a company which provides counsel to media and NGOs focused on the Middle East.