My longtime Casper, Wyoming, friend Neil J. Short is almost 62 and does not put in an inordinate amount of time on exercise. But he’s passionate about the benefits of daily exercise, as he shows clearly in this conversation we had today in my living room in Denver. 

Neil couldn’t possibly have been talking to someone less involved in outdoor exercise, but even I am convinced that there is no denying the truth of what he says so well. 

You can contact him at NeilWyo AT (NO SPAM PLEASE) gmail DOT com.

 

Mark J. Penn, Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist in the 2008 campaign and the author of Microtrends, spoke on April 25, 2009 at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge before a lunch organized by The Harvard Crimson, the university’s daily newspaper, of which Penn is an alumnus.

This is a recording of his talk and the wide-ranging Q&A afterward.

 

Kevin Rafferty talks about his documentary, “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29” before a screening of the film at the Denver Film Society‘s Starz Theatre in Denver on April 14, 2009.  With audience Q&A after the screening.

I was a freshman at Harvard on November 23, 1968, the day of a legendary football game between Harvard and Yale.  Rafferty’s loving attention to the details of that game and the characters of the players makes this a most satisfying film and a highly original portrait of the Sixties.

UPDATE: Harvard buffs may also be interested in this interview I did with my Harvard friend Ben Beach when he and I first saw the movie in Cambridge the weekend of the 40th anniversary of the 29-29 tie. Ben is a former sports editor of The Harvard Crimson and has more details on the mystery surrounding who actually wrote the iconic headline that became the title of the movie.

 

Ron Lyle of Denver, a retired heavyweight boxer who fought Muhammad Ali in 1975, visited  his alma mater, Manual High School, on February 10, 2009, to talk with students working on the school magazine, Boom. 

This is the unedited recording of the conversation, featuring Lyle’s heartfelt encouragement of the kids to experience the rewards of focus and commitment in any endeavor.

This is an interview I did today (January 19, 2009) with Jason L. Owens, volunteer manager for Volunteers of America – Colorado.  I was inspired to check out VOA as part of President-Elect Obama’s call to service on Martin Luther King Day.  VOA is one of 5,000 organizations where volunteers signed up to help today.   Obama himself did some painting today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Jason gave me two volunteer applications, for my wife and I to fill out.  We will do so and plan to spend some time learning what volunteer opportunities are nearby our home in Downtown Denver.

My wife and I attended a “house party” organized by the Obama campaign, one of 4,000 such events held across the country this past weekend.  Ours was held at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and featured an introductory talk by Marshall Ganz.  

 

My college friend Ben Beach, editor of The Wilderness Society’s Wilderness Magazine, never misses a Harvard-Yale football game and always holds a tailgate barbecue before the game.  In this podcast Ben talks about the hard-to-define pleasure he gets from this regularity, and he and I remember the most famous Harvard-Yale game in the 125-year history of the classic, 1968’s version which ended in a 29-29 tie.  The podcast contains audio clips from Ben and his wife Carol’s 36th consecutive barbecue this year, and also some audio from a showing at a local movie theatre of “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29,” a new documentary out about the game.  I highly recommend the movie, which The New Yorker calls “a fascinating feat of cultural archeology.”

My wife Darlene, a quilter, today helped me think through the talk I’ll give this weekend in Billings, Montana, about Internet technology and the arts.  She looks for tools that help her do things, not a lot of personality and ego.  Good advice for this podcaster! (She’s also looking for a good video podcast about quilting, so please leave her any tips in the comments.)

The workshops are being presented by the Montana Arts Council. Previous sessions were held in Great Falls and Missoula.

Music for my podcast is “Going to the Sun” composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon. It’s from their Glacier Journey CD.

Phone comments: 206-666-2713
Email: PodChronicles@gmail.com

We’ve seen a lot of Barack Obama here in Colorado in recent weeks. But Sunday’s event was the biggest anywhere in the country so far — well over 100,000 people at Civic Center Park. This episode is a soundscape of the rally and ends with Darlene making yet another phone call in search of volunteers to help get out the vote in this crucial battleground state. 

Click here for a video of the last few minutes of Obama’s speech. And here‘s a touching video of an elderly volunteer who had a chance to meet the candidate in Boulder.

Interviews at the Cambridge Boat Club on October 14, 2008, with four leaders of the Head of the Charles Regatta, a massive rowing event on the Charles River in Cambridge this coming weekend.  You’ll hear from Pete Peterson, the chief referree/umpire; John Romain, cochair manager of the Starting Line; Tom Martin, treasurer, and Mark Bober, cochair of emergency services.

The regatta takes place this coming weekend – don’t miss it if you’re anywhere close to Cambridge!