Mikey Weinstein – “Evangelical Christianity and the United States Air Force Academy”

There are concerns that evangelical Christianity is close to being officially sanctioned at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as within other areas of the United States’ military forces. In this edition of Radio Curious we visit some of these issues with Mikey Weinstein, a graduate of Air Force Academy, a businessman and former attorney in the Reagan White House. He describes how evangelical Christianity appears to have become the standard within the United States Air Force Academy that trains future leaders of the U.S. Air Force. At the beginning of an Air Force career each new cadet, among many other things, takes an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. These cadets are led by Brig. Gen. Johnny A Weida, the current USAF Academy Commandant of Cadets. On the official Air Force website, under character development, Brig. Gen. Weida is quoted as saying, “Our primary emphasis is to ensure every graduate has the character, honor, integrity, sense of service and excellence required of a second lieutenant in the world’s greatest Air and Space force.” On July 29, 2005, the name of Brig Gen Weida, the number two officer of the Air Force Academy, was deleted from a list of Air Force generals to be promoted, shortly before the Senate voted on those promotions. An April 28, 2005 report by American United for Separation of Church and State accused Brig Gen Weida of proselytizing to the cadets and specifically endorsing evangelical Christianity at the Academy. It is suggested that this may be a reason why he was not promoted. This interview with Mikey Weinstein, who worked as Assistant General Counsel in the Reagan White House Office of Administration, was recorded by telephone from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on August 3, 2005.

Mikey Weinstein recommends “The Sins of Scripture,” by John Shelby Spong.

Originally Broadcast: August 9, 2005

Professor Kristen Leslie – “Strident Evanglical Themes at the U.S. Air Force Academy”

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The series on evangelical Christianity at the United States Air Force Academy, continues with Kristen Leslie, a professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Yale University Divinity School. Professor Leslie was invited to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado to meet with the Academy chaplains and provide training in the counseling of female cadets who were victims of sexual assaults that had occurred at the Academy. In the course of her visits in 2004 and 2005, Professor Leslie and the group of graduate students from the Yale Divinity School who accompanied her, observed what she called “strident evangelical themes” at the Academy. Professor Leslie testified before the Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Armed Services on June 28, 2005, at the Congressional hearing entitled “Religious Climate at the U.S. Air Force Academy,” and reported her observations of her visit that included: The hanging of a banner containing an overtly Christian message by the football coach in the team locker room; the Air Force Academy commandant leading a “challenge and response” cheer about Jesus in front of a group of cadets of mixed faith; distribution of flyers advertising religious events in the cadet dining hall and over the public address system; failure of the Air Force Academy to consider the religious practices of cadets of minority faiths when setting the cadet schedule; and public expressions of faith by senior staff and faculty members, in some cases in inappropriate venues such as classrooms. Interviews with MeLinda Morton, the Air Force Academy Chaplain who resigned the end of July 2005, and Attorney Mikey Wienstein, a 1977 graduate of the Air Force Academy, both of whom are outspoken critics of the inaction on the part of the Air Force Academy leadership may be found here on the Radio Curious website. The Harvard University Committee on the Study of Religion has a detailed report, with abundant links to other articles on this issue that may be found at www.pluralism.org. And information about Professor Leslie’s testimony before Congress may be found at www.yale.edu/divinity/press. This interview with Kristen Leslie speaking from her office at Yale University about these issues was recorded on August 26, 2005.

Professor Kristen Leslie recommends “Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader,” by Ann Fadiman.

Originally Broadcast: August 30, 2005

Ellsberg, Daniel: “The Pentagon Papers”

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Few moments in American history have held the tension of the early 1970s. The nation was fundamentally divided between the jaded counter-culture and Nixon’s ‘silent majority,’ a rupture particularly connected to the still-escalating Vietnam War. The release to the public of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 focused national attention on US foreign policy and on our right as individual citizens to freedom of the press.

Daniel Ellsberg recommends “Our War,” by David Harris.

Originally Broadcast: March 19, 1997

Sam Totten – “Genocide in Darfur”

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Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, located in north central Africa and populated primarily by black Africans, the Sudanese government has been committing racial genocide. Reports are that as many as 400,000 black African civilians have been murdered by the Sudanese government together with Arab rebel groups in Darfur. Professor Sam Totten, a scholar in Genocide Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, visited the Darfur area in the fall of 2004 and has been examining this present day massacre that most of the world has chosen to ignore. I spoke with Professor Totten from his home in Arkansas and asked him to explain the reasons behind the genocide.

www.savedarfur.org

Sam Totten recommends “Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda,” by Romeo Dallaire.

Originally Broadcast: June 7, 2005

Donald Trone – “Fiduciary Responsibility”

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Though some people dislike the idea, money has become an important and complex aspect of life. Many choose to invest in stocks and mutual funds, hoping for financial growth with and without guidance from a knowledgeable advisor. With five million people responsible for the financial interests of others, there is very little regulation or control of what they do, or how they do it. Donald B. Trone is President of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies, a nonprofit organization established to develop and promote the practices that define a prudent process for investment fiduciaries, a person who is responsible for the money or assets of others. Donald B. Trone will discuss the practical and regulatory environment that defines the roles and responsibilities of investment fiduciaries, and how one should be chosen to work for you. The program begins with Trone explaining what a fiduciary is. You may visit the website of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies at www.fi360.com. The edition of Radio Curious was produced with the support of the National Press Foundation, www.nationalpress.org.

Donald Trone recommends “A Survey of the New Testament,” by Robert H. Gundry.

Originally Broadcast: June 14, 2005

Jack Gantos – “How Prison Affected One Man’s Life”

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A Hole In My Life

Have you ever been incarcerated? Locked in a prison cell for a number of years? That is what happened to Jack Gantos for being a crew member on a boat that smuggled a ton of hashish from St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands, to New York City. He survived prison and became a college writing teacher. His book, “A Hole In My Life,” tells the story of what happened the summer of 1971, his court experience, what happened in prison, and how the ordeal changed his life.

Jack Gantos recommends “The Locked Room,” by Paul Oster & “Notice,” by Heather Love.

Originally Broadcast: December 28, 2004

Deborah Koons Garcia– “The Future of Food”

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Director of, The Future of Food

“The Future of Food,” a film written and produced by Deborah Koons Garcia, discusses our food’s conflicting relationship with both mass agri-business and local agriculture. Our discussion was conducted in the context of the passage of Mendocino County’s Measure H, banning growth of GMOs in the county.

Deborah Koons Garcia recommends “Women’s Diaries fo the Westward Journey,” edited by Lillian Schlissel.

Originally Broadcast: April 25, 2004

David Corn– “Does President Bush Lie?”

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This episode was first broadcasted on November 25, 2003

The Lies of George W. Bush, Mastering the Politics of Deception
According to David Corn, the author of “The Lies of George W. Bush, Mastering the Politics of Deception,” all American Presidents have lied, but George W. Bush has relentlessly abused the truth. Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation, offers a scathing indictment of Bush, as he reveals and examines the deceptions at the heart of the Bush presidency.

David Corn recommends “Roscoe,” by William Kennedy & “All the King’s Men,” by Robert Penn Warren.

Originally Broadcast: November 25, 2003

Lester R. Brown– “The Earth and Economy in Crisis”

This episode was first broadcasted on October 7, 2003

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Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
Our earth is in big trouble. The environment and our economy are in crisis. Essentially, we have created a bubble economy in which we are over-consuming the earth’s natural resources. In this program, we will visit with Lester R. Brown, the author of “Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble.” Lester Brown is the president of the Earth Policy Institute, a nonprofit interdisciplinary research organization based in Washington DC.

Originally Broadcast: October 7, 2003

Tim Stoen – “Litigation to Save Old Growth Redwoods”

This episode was first broadcasted on September 13, 2003.

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The California law prohibiting unfair business practices is the basis for the 2003 lawsuit brought against the Pacific Lumber Company by the People of the State of California. This case was brought when the Humboldt County, California, District Attorney alleged that Pacific Lumber provided inaccurate information to the California Department of Forestry as the basis for a timber harvest plan which would preserve certain old growth redwood trees in “The Headwaters” forest. Tim Stoen is the Assistant District Attorney in Humboldt County and the lead attorney representing the People of the State of California in this case.

Tim Stoen recommends “John Adams and the American Revolution” & “The Lion and the Throne,” by Catherine Drinker Bowen.