![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thom hartmann
Sep. 27th, 2007 11:56 amI don't know if you guys listen to talk radio, but I want to recommend Thom Hartmann. I caught two segments of today's program, and they exemplified what I like about the show.
The first guest I heard was David Harsanyi, talking about his new book Nanny State. It's a libertarian(ish) take on things like smoking bans and food regulation, and Hartmann, a progressive, doesn't share his perspective on much. But the conversation was reasonable and interesting and, you know, reality-based. Harsanyi admitted that individual freedom wasn't the only legitimate basis for public policy; Hartmann acknowledged that some kinds of government intervention are excessive. They were arguing, but with an understanding that there's a rational common ground between them.
Later I heard Edward J. Larson, author of Magnificent Catastrophe. This is an academic history of the election of 1800, and he and Hartmann were trading gossipy stories about Adams and Jefferson, delineating the philosophical differences between the Federalists and the Republicans, describing the debates over national security, religion in civic life, and freedom of expression, implying connections with today's political landscape without belaboring the point. They were having a good time talking about the election of 1800. On commercial radio.
And it's almost always interesting. Hartmann grounds political debate in a historical perspective even when he doesn't have historians as guests, and while he's passionate in his convictions, he's uncommonly respectful of opposing viewpoints (but, fortunately, not of craven political spin). The show is on Air America (and elsewhere), 9-12 weekdays around here. Check your local listings.
The first guest I heard was David Harsanyi, talking about his new book Nanny State. It's a libertarian(ish) take on things like smoking bans and food regulation, and Hartmann, a progressive, doesn't share his perspective on much. But the conversation was reasonable and interesting and, you know, reality-based. Harsanyi admitted that individual freedom wasn't the only legitimate basis for public policy; Hartmann acknowledged that some kinds of government intervention are excessive. They were arguing, but with an understanding that there's a rational common ground between them.
Later I heard Edward J. Larson, author of Magnificent Catastrophe. This is an academic history of the election of 1800, and he and Hartmann were trading gossipy stories about Adams and Jefferson, delineating the philosophical differences between the Federalists and the Republicans, describing the debates over national security, religion in civic life, and freedom of expression, implying connections with today's political landscape without belaboring the point. They were having a good time talking about the election of 1800. On commercial radio.
And it's almost always interesting. Hartmann grounds political debate in a historical perspective even when he doesn't have historians as guests, and while he's passionate in his convictions, he's uncommonly respectful of opposing viewpoints (but, fortunately, not of craven political spin). The show is on Air America (and elsewhere), 9-12 weekdays around here. Check your local listings.
