The Chauncey DeVega Show

Glenn Kirschner is an NBC News/MSNBC on-air legal analyst and teaches criminal justice at George Washington University. He has a YouTube channel and Podcast, “Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner.” Kirschner is also a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience. He served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for 24 years, rising to the position of Chief of the Homicide Section. In that capacity, Kirschner supervised 30 homicide prosecutors and oversaw all homicide grand jury investigations and prosecutions in Washington, DC. He explains why and how Donald Trump (and his confederates) have been able to evade serious accountability for their public crime spree against American democracy and society, including the Jan. 6 coup attempt and lethal terrorist attack on the Capitol. Kirschner cautions that contrary to the mainstream media’s narrative that the “walls are closing in” on Donald Trump given his multiple criminal and civil trials where he may face hundreds of years in prison and hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and judgements, the reality of the situation is much more perilous and uncertain. He warns that Donald Trump and the Republican fascists and the larger “conservative” movement are trying to kill American democracy and will not stop until they achieve their goal of unlimited power and putting Dictator Trump in the White House. Chauncey DeVega missed all of you good members of The Chauncey DeVega Show Secular Church Family and shares a pathetic and frustrating tale of how he has been under attack by a severe case of cooties (likely some type of targeted assault by a customized biological weapon) these last two or so months that caused the podcast to be delayed. Chauncey honors and celebrates the life of the Elder God and Titan Louis Gossett Jr. who passed away on March 29 and attends a special screening of his iconic film An Officer and a Gentlemen, during which he sheds some tears and engages in some deep reflective thinking about very important things.   And Chauncey DeVega reviews the new films Asphalt City, Love Lies Bleeding, and Late Night With The Devil. In the interest of public health and safety – and protecting your sanity -- Chauncey also survives the movies Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire so you don’t have to. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

There are two guests on this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Brynn Tannehill is a journalist and author of "American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy." Her essays and other writing have been featured at the New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The New Republic. Brynn reflects on doing the frustrating and challenging work of continuing to sound the alarm about Dictator Trump, American neofascism, and the existential threat that movement represents to the LGBTQ community and others deemed to be the enemy. She also shares her insights on why so many Americans – especially in the news media and political class – continue to be in a state of denial about the Trumpocene nightmare and the hellscape that awaits the American people when/if The Dear Leader and his cabal take power in 2025.  Heather Cox Richardson is Professor of History at Boston College. She is the author of numerous books including her most recent, “Democracy Awakening”. Richardson’s Substack newsletter “Letters From an American” is essential reading and is subscribed to by 1,400,000 people. She explains how the study of American history and peoples’ movements to expand real democracy are critical for defeating Trumpism, American neofascism and global illiberalism today. Heather also reflects on how her background as a working-class person helped to prepare her for the intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and physically demanding work of defending American democracy in her role and responsibility as someone who thinks and writes publicly for a living. Chauncey DeVega summons the power of the Sincerity Prayer and shares his thoughts on our collective exhaustion from the Trumpocene and other life struggles and burdens -- and the importance of not surrendering to them. Chauncey also ponders the perfect film “Perfect Days” and the life lessons he learned from the people he encountered during his travels in his neighborhood. And Chauncey DeVega honors the career of the professional wrestling legend Sting. He is also very upset at the superfans and “Cody Crybabies” who are denying the world the epic WrestleMania 40 battle between The Rock and The Head of the Table Roman Reigns. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Irv Muchnick is one of America’s leading sports writers and investigative journalists. His essays and other writing have appeared in Sports Illustrated, People, The Washington Monthly, and the Sunday magazines of the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of the books Chris & Nancy; Wrestling Babylon; Concussion Inc., Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads: The American Way of Death in Football Conditioning; and Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe. Irv Muchnick reflects on why the recent “revelations” about Vince McMahon’s alleged Caligula-like sexual exploitation of an employee, harassment, and of creating a larger environment of sexual predation at the WWE/WWF should in no way be a surprise given what has been publicly known for decades. Irv also offers some context from his long history of reporting on the subculture(s) of professional wrestling and other sports such as swimming and gymnastics about how and why sexual harassment and abuse are unfortunately all too common both in those spaces and across American society. And Irv connects the dots between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon and what he describes as the “Trumpification” of American politics and life. Chauncey reflects on nostalgia, innocence, joy, pleasure, fan culture, and how to reconcile loving professional wrestling (and other things) with knowing about the real-life drama and human cost that it brings to its participants and others in that world. Ultimately, is innocence bliss? And Chauncey shares a story about being a hero in your own neighborhood (even when sick), thanks everyone for their support during his battle with the cooties, and in that spirit makes a public health announcement about the merits of folk medicine and the all-powerful asafetida bag. At the end of this episode of the podcast, there is also an “Easter egg” bonus segment from the archives with writer, movie producer, and director Barry Blaustein where he reflects on making the landmark professional wrestling documentary Beyond the Mat. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Alan Jenkins is a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School where he teaches courses on Race and the Law, Communication, Law, and Social Justice, and Supreme Court Jurisprudence. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, he co-founded and led The Opportunity Agenda. Jenkins has also been a frequent guest columnist in The Hollywood Reporter. He has also appeared frequently as a commentator on CBS and MSNBC. Alan reflects on what America would be like if Trump’s MAGA coup attempt had succeeded and how he (and Gan Golan) used that premise and thought exercise to create 1/6: A Graphic Novel. He also shares his worries and concerns about the present state and future of American democracy and the long Black Freedom Struggle in this time of white rage and neofascist assault, and reflects on what President Obama (who Alan casually knows from their time together at law school) must be thinking about his legacy.   Chauncey and Alan also reflect on the early days of comic book conventions and how they found their love for graphic novels and other such visual storytelling. On this landmark 400th episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega reflects on the journey, the perils and allure of being broken and exhausted by the Trumpocene (and how too many of his fellow travelers in the pro-democracy movement are quitting), and how the hope peddlers and other happy pill sellers will be amplifying their siren song voices as the reality of Dictator Trump becomes more real and imminent. Chauncey also shares some heartwarming animal friend and good human stories, is concerned about the future of his beloved New England Patriots in a post-Belichick era, and is embarrassed that he was defeated again by the Fog Monster and then by Sub Zero here in Chicago.   WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

This is a sneak preview of this week's installment of The Truth Report: https://thetruthreportwithchaunceydevega.libsyn.com/ep-133-dr-bandy-lee-warns-that-trumpism-is-a-public-health-emergency-that-is-reaching-fatal-levels-for-american-democracy-and-society Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist and a leading expert on violence who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years before transferring her activities to Columbia and Harvard. Dr. Lee is also the editor of the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. She is currently president of the World Mental Health Coalition, the largest professional organization to address the problem of dangerous leadership and its contribution to a “mental health pandemic.” Dr. Lee continues to warn that Trump and his MAGA movement and American neofascism constitute a public health emergency, which as seen on Jan. 6 and with Trump’s escalating threats of massive violence and destruction is only continuing to get worse. She also warns that Trump’s megalomania and the enduring power of the MAGA cult reflects how American society is sick with malignant normality and how that collective state of evil and pathological behavior can only lead to doom and destruction. Dr. Lee reflects on where the country would now be if the news media, political class, and other elites had responded properly to the warnings issued by mental health professionals more than seven years ago that Donald Trump represented an extreme threat to American society and that his obvious unwellness would spread and infect the nation if he were to become president – and if he wins the 2024 Election Dictator for Life will become a terminal disease for American democracy and society.  WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?  Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

On this special Christmas Day episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega is upset because his travel plans to visit his mom and dear friends were ruined by the fog. Instead of deciding to sit home alone and sulk, he instead shares an epic story of rage and adventure and romance and reflecting on life that took place during his many hours at the airport. Chauncey also does some research on why many people have erotic feelings towards Santa Claus (and Mrs. Claus). And on this impromptu episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega revisits his investigation into the African-American characters from the beloved movie A Christmas Story. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?  Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

There are two guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and the author of Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. He warns that Donald Trump appears to be a megalomaniac, who as demonstrated by his recent comments at a rally in Iowa, truly does believe that he is some type of Chosen One who has been selected by “god” and “Jesus” to be America’s first dictator. Dr. Frank also explains how Trump’s obviously diseased mind and severe mental unwellness is rooted in a need to protect himself from reality – and how the pro-democracy forces can perhaps pierce Trump’s defense shield as they try to stop his fascist movement and takeover of the country.  Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is a Dominican immigrant, former U.S. Army Soldier, and Iraq War veteran. He’s been a Capitol Hill Police Officer for the past 17 years and was one of four police officers who testified before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Insurrection. He’s been recently featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS Mornings, NBC News, Fox-TV, MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The Hill, and Rolling Stone. He is the recipient of the Carnegie Immigrant Award. Sgt. Gonell’s new book (with co-author Susan Shapiro) is American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy. Sgt. Gonell shares what it was like on the ground as he and his fellow officers tried to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 against Trump’s MAGA terrorist mob and attack force who were trying to end American democracy as part of the coup attempt. Sgt. Gonell also reflects on his personal trauma, healing, questions of character, and how he became the type of man he is as shown by his service to the country when it would have been much easier to not have shown up to work on that historic Jan. 6. Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on the growing sense of dread in our collective consciousness and that something even more horrible has happened these last few days and weeks as Trump and the MAGA movement are growing in power and their victory in next year’s presidential election -- which will mean the end of American democracy -- appears even more likely. Chauncey also reflects on where he is in his journey on the two-year anniversary of the Event. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW?  Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

On this special Thanksgiving 2023 episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on gratitude, why it is fine to be human and grumpy and not so happy on this holiday, and of course reads (and warns about) Dictator Trump’s Thanksgiving proclamation and why you should be preparing for his return to the White House. Chauncey also has some fun on this special episode of the podcast as he explains why there are some things you never buy on sale at Black Friday, continues to rage about his enemy the Turkey, offers some advice on sexy times after eating Thanksgiving dinner, and dialogues with the AI chatbot non-human entity about a range of dilemmas related to the holiday.  And Chauncey DeVega shares some thoughts about Eli Roth’s new movie Thanksgiving.  WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Rich Cohen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tough Jews and Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football. Rich is a co-creator of the HBO series Vinyl, and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.   His new book is When The Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season.  Rich Cohen reflects on the generational experience of growing up in the 1980s and how it is so very different from today because of helicopter parents and smart phones, the meaning and death of mall culture, and how the storied NBA rivalries and sports dynasties of the 1980s still resonate to the present and continue to influence Americans culture more broadly.      In this conversation, Rich Cohen and Chauncey reflect on being men of a certain vintage and the adventures they had as young people in the 1980s (adventures that would likely get their parents in big trouble today), what they learned from their fathers about street smarts, human nature, and psychology, and their shared love of AM talk radio and such personalities as Art Bell and Larry King.    Chauncey DeVega shares his epic story of going home to see his mother to recharge, why he slept in his dead daddy’s bed, meditated in a cemetery and talked to a Great Tree, howled at a storm, and the healing power of eating at his family’s favorite restaurant.  And Chauncey offers his thoughts about the hellish new Exorcist movie and reads Ed Simon’s essential new Time magazine essay “Why We Love to Talk About Demons”. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Jonathan Lethem is a best-selling essayist, novelist, and cultural critic. His books include Dissident Gardens, The Fortress of Solitude, The Feral Detective, and Motherless Brooklyn. Lethem is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. His new book is Brooklyn Crime Novel. Jonathan Lethem explains why They Live endures and is now much more than a “cult classic”, the power of John Carpenter’s warnings about our present-future, reflects on what it means to be a “language worker” i.e. someone who writes for a living and thinks deeply about the written word, and why in the Age of Trump and late capitalism so many human beings have surrendered to the culture of cruelty and disposability and have become the “ghouls” from They Live. In this conversation, Jonathan Lethem and Chauncey also reflect on their mutual dislike of Christopher Nolan’s films and their shared love of Michael Mann’s filmThief. Chauncey shares some stories from his neighborhood, how again he encountered a (new) local pervert, is sad about how bad the New England Patriots have become in the post-Brady era and is very happy about the goddess Jade Cargill joining the WWE. He also explains how Donald Trump continues to channel antisemitism and the evils of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis – this time during an interview where the evil ex-president complains about how non-white migrants and refugees are “poisoning the blood” of (White) America. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Leonce Gaiter’s nonfiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, LA Weekly, Slate, and The Washington Post. Gaiter is also the author of the historical novel, “I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang”. Leonce explains why white privilege and white racial innocence will not save (white) Americans from Trump’s plans to be a dictator and the hell world that the American neofascist movement is trying to impose on the country. He also reflects on why black and brown “conservatives” like Clarence Thomas and Tim Scott have chosen to surrender to white supremacy and a pathological pursuit of honorary Whiteness as their way of finding “success” and “happiness”. In this wide-ranging conversation, Leonce and Chauncey dialogue about how they both escaped the trap of being black conservatives, masculinity and violence, the Democratic Party’s failed messaging, and the much-heralded “Battle for Montgomery” where black folks fought back against white thugs on a pier.  It is Chauncey DeVega’s birthday week and as is his habit he reflects on his life journey this past year, successes and failures, and plans for the year ahead.  And because it is his birthday week, Chauncey indulges himself with a story about being a hero in his neighborhood, fighting back against a local pervert, and an encounter with a toilet freak. Chauncey also reads one of his favorite parts of Cormac McCarthy’s book “Child of God” and shares why he has already seen Denzel Washington’s new film “The Equalizer 3” three times at the movie theater. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

There are two guests on this week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Jen Senko is the director of the 2015 documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad. She shares her thoughts on the new CBS News/YouGov poll that shows how Donald Trump’s followers trust him more than their friends, family members, and religious leaders. In essence, and once again, Donald Trump is the leader of a fascist political cult. Jen Senko also reflects on the impact of her very prescient documentary given Trump’s criminal trials and the plot against democracy, the escalating danger(s) of Trump’s movement, and why so many in the American mainstream news media continue to be in willful denial about the reality of the crisis. Rich Logis is a former high ranking Trump MAGA World operative and propagandist. He reflects on how he was radicalized by the Trump MAGA fascist movement, how it functions as an alternate reality that provides emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, familial, and other types of meaning and belonging for its members, and how he escaped it. In this wide-ranging conversation, Rich Logis also shares how being a member of the MAGA movement and worshipping the Great Leader Donald Trump made him feel like he was a soldier in a revolutionary struggle to defeat the Democrats, “the liberals” and other enemies of “the movement”. Chauncey DeVega honors the lives, legacy, and impact of two great professional wrestlers who passed away last week. Terry Funk, who was 79 years old, left this realm of existence on Wednesday. Windham Lawrence Rotunda (“Bray Wyatt”) transitioned on Thursday. He was only 36 years old. This week’s episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to them. Chauncey DeVega also shares his thoughts about the Republican Party’s first 2024 presidential primary debate, Trump’s fake interview with Tucker Carlson, and the ex-president and traitor’s surrender and arrest in Georgia. And Chauncey reacts to the white supremacist terrorist attack in Florida in real time as he is recording the introduction to this episode of the podcast. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Dr. Justin Frank is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at the George Washington University Medical Center and the author of Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. Dr. Frank shares his expert insights about Donald Trump’s mind and how the ex-president’s mental pathologies and other unwell behavior are shaping his response to being criminally indicted for his many alleged crimes including Jan. 6 and his attempted coup attempt to end American democracy.  In the end, Dr. Frank warns Trump will become increasingly detached from reality as he exercises even more violent control and power over his MAGA cult followers who view the ex-president as a type of father figure and personal god. Chauncey DeVega honors the lives, legacy, and impact of filmmaker William Friedkin and professional wrestler “Exotic” Adrian Street. Chauncey also reacts in real time to Donald Trump and his cabal’s criminal indictments in Georgia, which occurred Monday night while he was recording the introduction to this week’s installment of the podcast. And Chauncey has fun talking with one of the chatbot AI machines about Donald Trump and CHUDs. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Tim Wise is an author, activist and leading expert on white privilege and racism. He is the author of many books, including his most recent "Dispatches From the Race War." He explains how the recent Supreme Court decision against affirmative action, Ron DeSantis’ fascist-authoritarian war on Black America’s real history (slavery was a “job skills “program) and real struggles and real triumphs, and Donald Trump and the MAGA movement’s enduring power are all connected as part of a much larger project to protect white privilege and white power across all of American society by ending multiracial democracy. Tim Wise also reflects on how his decades of experience as an antiracist activist and battling white racists has helped him to understand the Age of Trump and why so many good white liberals and mainstream Democrats and centrists are fundamentally unprepared for the challenge(s) of protecting multiracial democracy and the long struggle ahead. Chauncey and Tim also dialogue about the effectiveness of the right-wing media machine, how liberals and “the left” are using the wrong strategies and tactics, and the temptations of going over to the other side because of money – and why they would never do such a thing. And Chauncey goes to the archives and shares what white slavers in the South actually wrote and thought about how the enslavement of Black Americans was a type of “job skills” program -- and how their claims are not too different from what Ron DeSantis and the other neofascists and members of the white right are saying more than one hundred years later. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

There are two guests in this episode of the podcast. John Blake is a senior writer and producer at CNN and the author of the new book More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew. John reflects on vulnerability and the vocation of writing, life journeys and life wisdom, the people who made us, how the personal is truly the political, navigating and surviving the color line and questions of belonging and identity. He also shares the importance of finding one’s own true authentic voice in writing, specifically, and life, more generally. Friend of the podcast and Chauncey DeVega’s heterosexual life partner and brother from another mother Mr. Bill returns for a discussion of the new Indiana Jones movie The Dial of Destiny, why it moved us so much, nostalgia and the critic, what comes next for Mr. Jones, and of course the announcement by Disney that there will be fewer Star Wars and Marvel TV shows and movies. Chauncey also ponders the importance of keeping our hope tanks full, the emotional and other junk that too many of us fill our pockets with, and managing stress and how our bodies always keep score. And of course, Chauncey DeVega shares his thoughts on the recent series of amazing professional wrestling matches between FTR and Bullet Club Gold and CM Punk and Samoa Joe on the AEW Collision television show, why his beloved New England Patriots are in big trouble after not signing DeAndre Hopkins, the genius of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and updates the listeners of the podcast about another misadventure that befell him at the sin-filled movie theater during a viewing of the new comedy Joy Ride. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

This is a special surprise July 4th episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. On this special episode, Chauncey takes a journey around his neighborhood and shares some stories about the interesting, good, bad, and other fascinating people he encountered and the lessons he learned about inner beauty and dignity. He also shares his thoughts about the recent AEW Forbidden Door pay-per-view event, watching the reality TV show 90 Day Fiancé: Before The 90 Days on TLC with his mother and the mysterious and upsetting saga of Gino and Jasmine, and what it was like battling smoke from forest fires and unending noise from Nascar racing here in Chicago. Chauncey DeVega also reads the poem How to Be Alone by Pádraig Ó Tuama. On this special July 4th episode of the podcast, Chauncey reaches back into the archives and features his 2018 conversation with historian David Blight about the American titan and prophet Frederick Douglass. Professor Blight explains how the wisdom and example of Frederick Douglass's life can help save American democracy in the Age of Trump, separating the myth and legend of Frederick Douglass from the real man, and how studying the Black Freedom Struggle and the color line can help us to better understand how the United States of today came to be. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Prison journalist John J. Lennon is currently serving a 28-years-to-life sentence at Sullivan Correctional Facility for murder, drug sales and gun possession. He is a contributing editor at Esquire and a contributing writer at the Marshall Project. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and elsewhere. In this wide-ranging conversation John J. Lennon discusses the craft of writing, life journeys, masculinity, violence, mental health, and what it means to try to be a sane person in an insane and mad world. Chauncey DeVega has returned from his trip home to visit his mother and reflects on that epic journey and grappling with working-class financial anxieties, health worries, and the other fears that come with being the only child of an ageing parent.  Chauncey also shares his obligatory thoughts on Donald Trump’s indictment for allegedly violating the Espionage Act and how contrary to the mainstream media and those others who are drunk on American Exceptionalism that this is not a country where “justice is blind” and “no one is above the law”. Chauncey DeVega honors the now departed writer Cormac McCarthy, professional wrestling superstar the Iron Sheik, and actor Treat Williams. And do be sure to listen through to the end of this episode of the podcast for a very special “Easter egg” bonus segment. LINKS OF INTEREST ·    On Trump's federal indictment: A historic low brings hope ·    "This was his campaign plan": Trump has flipped the stolen documents case into "a farce" ·    The Iron Sheik, Villainous Hall of Fame Wrestler, Is Dead ·    Wrestling world pays tribute to WWE Hall of Famer The Iron Sheik WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

Jonathan Eig is an award-winning author and journalist whose books include Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig. His new book is King: A Life. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jonathan emphasizes the real and complex Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as opposed to the man who has been made into a secular saint, what it was like to be a trustee of such a legacy and life, and how the real and complex and flawed man who did amazing things is so much more interesting and inspiring than the 2-dimensional version of Dr. King that too many people robotically worship. Jonathan also explains how we should not overlook or otherwise ignore Dr. King's very human imperfections such as his womanizing, plagiarizing, as well as emotional vulnerabilities and struggles that included serious depression and suicide attempts, because to do so is to take away King's ability to inspire we regular folks to achieve great things in very difficult times.  On this Memorial Day weekend episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega shares a story about King MAGA Uncle Trump CHUD’s unbelievable adventures in love. Chauncey has also found himself immersed in a high-profile animal bird country law case involving a young crow delinquent who attacked a man in a local park.   And in a special segment of the show, Chauncey DeVega honors the life and legacy of the great and underappreciated professional wrestler “Superstar” Billy Graham who passed away last week. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

This is a sneak preview of this week's installment of The Truth Report: https://thetruthreportwithchaunceydevega.libsyn.com/ep-126-mark-jacob-explains-how-americas-mainstream-news-media-surrendered-to-donald-trump-and-the-republican-fascist-movement Mark Jacob is a media critic and a former Metro Editor at the Chicago Tribune and Sunday Editor at the Chicago Sun-Times.  He reflects on his decades-long career in the news media and what he learned about that institution’s failings and how it helped to birth the Age of Trump and American neofascism. Mark Jacob warns that obsolete habits and cultural norms such as “fairness”, “objectivity”, “bothsidesism”, “access journalism”, and “horse race coverage” by the mainstream corporate news media are acts of cowardice and surrender to the Republican fascists and other malign actors. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow

In honor of Star Wars and the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi, friend of the podcast and fellow traveler Mr. Bill is the special guest on this eclectic episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Chauncey DeVega and Mr. Bill reflect on their four-decade-long relationship with all things Star Wars and how they feel as men of a certain vintage about George Lucas’s great gift to the world, why they love it so much, and how that love and relationship went so wrong with Disney’s takeover. They also discuss what it was like to see Return of the Jedi in the theater last week, the perils of nostalgia, and what the future direction of the Star Wars Universe should be – and if it can be salvaged. And Chauncey DeVega and Bill the Lizard also try to make sense of how Season Three of The Mandalorian went so wrong and why Grogu should be very upset at how he has been treated.   On this special eclectic episode, Chauncey DeVega honors the now departed Jerry Springer, shares the lessons about our common humanity that he learned in his neighborhood these last two weeks, and goes to the movies (and has yet another titillating experience while there). At the end of this eclectic episode, Chauncey shares two heartwarming stories about our beloved animal friends. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow