Podcast

Podcast Wednesday's show!

CEM — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:45:51 -0700

Did you miss the show from Wednesday July 30th when Marc Steiner and his guests discussed the CNN series Black in America? No problem! Just click here to download the show.

3/20/08 The Wire Podcasts: Nina K. Noble

CEM — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:16:39 -0700

Nina Noble and friends accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries for HBO's The Corner in 2000. She is on far left.

I have major sympathy for Nina Noble. We share a job title (okay, well her title has the fancy 'Executive' in front of it) and people are constantly asking me "What does a producer DO?" I imagine she gets the same question. I always like to answer, "I do all the work" and then flash a smile. If Marc is around, I will usually add jokingly, "...and he gets all the glory." (Fair enough, really, considering he also has to bear the brunt of all the criticism!)

But seriously, Nina Noble had a gigantic job as Executive Producer of The Wire. From convincing the Port of Baltimore to let them shoot scenes on location to keeping track of the hundreds of characters David Simon and the other writers created, it's a wonder she didn't burn out long ago. But as she told Marc when she sat down for an interview about the experience of working on The Wire, this is the only job she is suited for.

Click here to stream the interview. Right click here and select "Save Target As" in order to download this onto your computer. Want to get this in iTunes? Instructions are below, just click "Read More". Running time is 40:20.

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External Links

David Simon: The Wire Exit Interview from Baltimore City Paper
Bittersweet Work of Wrapping 'Wire' from The New York Times
What Does a Producer Do?by Marshall Persinger
Nina Noble from Internet Movie Database

3/17/08 An Iraqi American view on the Iraq War

CEM — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:09:02 -0700

Iraqi Americans in Michigan celebrate execution of Saddam Hussein. Not all Iraqi Americans were so happy. Photo Credit: Associated Press

Imagine you are a person who left your native country because you didn't want to live under its government. Imagine several decades later, your adopted country chooses to invade your native country and topple the same regime you left under.

What do you do?

Do you celebrate, thrilled that the regime you disliked is now gone?

Or do you mourn as you watch your country, which despite the dictatorship was a vibrant safe place, turn into a place you can barely recognize?

Such is the circumstance of many Iraqi Americans. Most of the Iraqi's living in the United States disliked Saddam Hussein. But that doesn't mean they were happy to see U.S. tanks roll into Baghdad to topple his government.

The fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq is upon us. Over the next couple of weeks, we're bringing you interviews with scholars, veterans, peace activists, and more. Today, we are bringing you an interview with Dr. Adil Shamoo. Dr. Shamoo grew up in Iraq, in the Chaldean christian community. He came to the United States in the 1960's, and he a professor of bioethics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Click here to stream the interview. Right click here and select "Save Target As" in order to download this interview onto your computer. Want to get this and other podcasts on iTunes? Click "Read More" below to find out how. Running time is 25:30. The music heard at the beginning and end of this interview is "Second Baghdad" by the Iraqi musician Rahim Alhaj.

Click Read More to get resources and information on how to get this podcast on iTunes.

The URL for the CEM podcast is
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This way, your ITUNES should update whenever we add a new podcast.

Most recent articles written by Dr. Adil Shamoo

February 22, 2008 The Enduring Trap in Iraq
December 17, 2007 Winning or Losing in Iraq
May 31, 2007 The Destruction of Iraqi Healthcare Infrastructure

3/18/08 The Wire Podcasts: Bob Wisdom

CEM — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:16:02 -0700

Photo by Anne Hefley

It's been over a week since the series finale of The Wire aired. Sad time for Wire fans these days, but we're continuing The Wire Podcast series to help you get through the end-of-show withdrawal. Speaking of which, having had a little time to reflect on it now, what did everyone think of the last episode, and Season 5 as a whole?

Click here for an interview with Bob Wisdom, who played Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin on The Wire. Running time is 15:48. Click here to open the interview transcript.

What was the real life inspiration for Hamsterdam? What does he think of the character he portrayed? What can the experience of The Wire tell us about race and acting in America today? (Preview quote: "Every actor of color in this country that I ever met wanted to be part of this show.")

If Marc and Bob sound like old friends, it's because they are. They met at Studio Theatre in Washington DC in 1986 or so, where they acted together in a production of American Buffalo by David Mamet. Bet you didn't know that!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the CEM Wire podcast series.

3/17/08 Iraq and the Presidential election

CEM — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:07:46 -0700

Yes, it has been quiet in here over the past week but that's only because we've been so hard at work! We've got lots of new content that will be coming your way this week, so make sure to check back everyday for something new.

IRAQ: FIVE YEARS LATER

Can you believe that on Thursday, March 20th, it will have been five years since the United States led the invasion into Iraq? Sometimes it seems like the conflict has been dragging on so much longer. Other times it seems like just yesterday that we were watching American troops help Iraqis pull down that statue of Saddam.

Does it seem that we are talking about Iraq a lot less than we used to? Has the mainstream media totally abdicated responsibility for covering this story, choosing instead to talk about super-delegates and shocking caucus results? Have the candidates refused to discuss it? Are we just so relieved that the violence is below pre-surge levels that we feel we can ignore it ? Are we just bored with it-and misinformed about it? Why is there not major mainstream media coverage of the winter soldier hearings?

Whatever it is, we know our audience still cares about Iraq and what is happening there, so over this week and next we are bringing you a series of podcasts talking about Iraq. We're going to hear from scholars, journalists, Iraqis and Iraqi Americans, veterans, peace activists and more. If you have any ideas for points of view you want us to investigate, let us know!

First up, we wanted to take a look at the intersection of the presidential election and Iraq. Where do Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama stand on the war (click on their names to read their campaign platforms on Iraq)? What is their history in terms of the Iraq war (Go here for Clinton, here for McCain, and here for Obama)? What can the beliefs of their advisers tell us about their agenda? McCain has a reputation for being a maverick-does he have a maverick agenda for Iraq? Does the fact that he is a veteran give his agenda more credibility? Some people say Hillary and Obama agree on most major policies--is that true for their Iraq plans? To get to the bottom of these questions, we talked with UMBC history professor Brad Simpson. He is an astute observer and analyst of U.S. foreign policy. Sure, he's got a point of view and he isn't afraid to voice it, but he's got criticism for both sides of the aisle and he dishes it out with a real knowledge of the issues.

Click here to stream Marc's interview with Brad Simpson. Right-click here and select "Save Target As" to save the mp3 onto your desktop. Transcript coming soon. Running time is 27 minutes.

Check back everyday this week for more interviews. We've got more podcasts about The Wire, and we'll be talking with other folks about Iraq.

Let us know what you think...

-Jessica

3/7/08 The Wire podcasts: Clarke Peters

CEM — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:17:02 -0800

We stopped by Clarke's Charles Village rowhome one recent morning to tape this interview. By interview, I mean a laid back conversation around the dining room table, talking about all sorts of things: Baltimore, theater, race, politics, culture, Europe, America, and of course, The Wire and his character, Detective Lester Freamon. Oh, have you heard there are discussions of a Wire movie? Clarke brings it up near the end of the interview. So, sit back, relax, click here, and listen. Running time is 43:41.

To read the transcript of the interview, click here.

Check this out - yesterday Time magazine published an article written by The Wire's five writers: Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, and David Simon. It's called "The Wire's War on the Drug War" and they argue for jury nullification on all non-violent drug cases. Here's a quote:

"If asked to serve on a jury deliberating a violation of state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the evidence presented. Save for a prosecution in which acts of violence or intended violence are alleged, we will — to borrow Justice Harry Blackmun's manifesto against the death penalty — no longer tinker with the machinery of the drug war. No longer can we collaborate with a government that uses nonviolent drug offenses to fill prisons with its poorest, most damaged and most desperate citizens."

Read the whole article. In light of the recent news that 1 in 100 U.S. adults are in prison, giving us the highest rate of incarceration in the world, what do you think?

Don't forget to check out the rest of the CEM Wire podcast series!

And come back tomorrow, the last day before the series finale airs, for a new interview with Andre Royo aka Bubbles aka Bubs!!

3/8/08 The Wire podcasts: Andre Royo

CEM — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:01:51 -0800

Bubbles is my favorite character on The Wire. I remember hearing an interview with David Simon before the fifth season premiered in which he promised that at least one character would experience a happy ending and total redemption by the end of the series. I immediately forget all about how much I cared about Dukie, Randy, and all the other kids on the show and found myself hopin' and prayin' for Bubbles to be the one with the happy ending.

Seems like he is doing pretty good so far this season...we'll find out for sure tomorrow night whether or not Bubbles ends the season clean and sober. Before that, take a listen to Marc's interview with Andre Royo, the actor who has so deftly portrayed Bubbles during the last few years. He'll speak about how intense it was so carry this character over an extended period of time, and why he thinks the character of Bubbles moved so many people. You'll hear Andre's plans for the future and what he hopes The Wire has taught people.

Click here to stream the interview. Right click here and select "Save Target As" in order to download the interview as an mp3. Running time is 25 minutes. You can read the transcript here.

Links below, after you click "Read More"

Andre Royo's MySpace page
Andre Royo Internet Movie Database
Through the Wire A feature on Andre Royo in the Baltimore City Paper from September 2005.
Andre Royo An interview with New York Magazine from January 2008.
LAist Interview: The Wire's Andre Royo from January 2008.
Andre Royo of The Wire Shed's His Skin from New York Resident Magazine, January 2008
The Wire coverage on BET

3/6/08 The Wire podcasts: Viva House

CEM — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:29:20 -0800

I have a lot of friends from out of town who love The Wire. I always kind of feel sorry for them because I feel like they aren't getting the whole picture. Only someone really familiar with Baltimore can get all the inside jokes, references, and cameos that pepper the series. But sometimes the reference is arcane enough that not even Baltimoreans quite get what they are looking at. For example, how many people know that the soup kitchen Bubbles worked at in season five is a real place?

My co-producer Justin brought that up, and we decided that it would make a great podcast to go down and talk to the people who run that soup kitchen and learn about their experience being featured on The Wire. Their names are Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham. They play themselves on television (well, sort of...listen to the podcast to find out more!) They are wonderful people and they have a lot of great things to say about Baltimore, social justice issues, and of course, The Wire.

Click here to stream the interview. Right click here and select "Save Target As" to download the entire feature as an MP3. The running time is 17:29. Read the transcript here.

Click "Read More" for a slideshow of pictures from Viva House as well as other resources.

[slideshow id=1441151880764082155&w=426&h=320]

This is a selection of images taken at Viva House in West Baltimore. Move your cursor over the pictures for captions.

Baltimore's Viva House from America, The National Catholic Weekly
Mildred and Me , from Laura Lippman.com-Laura writes about her experience volunteering at Viva House.
Diary: Entry 5 from Slate.com-Laura Lippman writes again about Viva House.
Best Free Food: Viva House from Best of Baltimore 2006 by Baltimore City Paper

Want to get in touch with Viva House? Write to them at

Viva House Catholic Worker

26 S. Mount Street. Baltimore, MD 21223.

Call: 410-233-0488

3/5/08 The Wire Podcasts: Robert Chew, aka Proposition Joe

CEM — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:45:50 -0800

We're back again today with another fantastic interview for you. Last week Marc sat down with Robert Chew, the Baltimore native who has portrayed the east Baltimore drug lord Proposition Joe for the past several years on the hit HBO series The Wire. Prop Joe, as he came to be known, was an iconic figure that represented a time in Baltimore where the drug trade was less violent and bloody, when word was bond, and "The Game" was something very different than what it is today.

Click here to steam that interview. Or, right click here and choose "Save Target As." Running time is 34 minutes. You can read the transcript here.

Click read more for interviews and resources.

Robert Chew on the Internet Movie Database
The Arena Players Youtheatre
An Interview with Prop Joeon The FADER
Back to School from Baltimore City Paper-this article goes in-depth regarding the coaching Chew provided to the four young men who starred in season four.
The TV Club talks about Prop Joe's fate (spoiler alert!) on Slate.com
Wire Watch from Time Magazine (spoiler alert!)

3/4/08 The Wire podcasts: David Simon

CEM — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:59:02 -0800

Our Wire podcast series continues with a forty minute interview with David Simon! Sunday is getting closer. In the meantime, hear what The Wire's creator has to say about the show. Click here for the complete audio interview (you can also right click and choose "Save Target As" to save the MP3 so you can put it on a cd or portable MP3 player.) Click here to read the transcript.

Choice quotes:

"The Wire to me is one of the funniest shows about the decline of the American empire that’s ever been written."

"Politically, I am a pessimist at this point. I don’t believe we can actually even recognize our fundamental problems, much less begin to address them. And that is what the last season of The Wire was about...I’d love The Wire to be wrong about everything. This is not a gleeful pessimism, it’s a worried pessimism. And if The Wire is wrong, nobody will be happier than me."

"Every single drama that is offered up for popular entertainment is on some level a political or cultural form of pornography, and I’m tired of it and it bores the hell out of me."

"I apparently am the angriest man in television, which, I take that as a vague manner of praise, but I think it’s rather faint. The second angriest man in television, I believe, is by a kidney shaped pool with his cellphone in Bel Air somewhere, and he’s screaming because he doesn’t have enough points on the DVD’s."

Here are just a few of the thousands of interviews with and articles about David Simon.

Stealing Life: The Crusader behind The Wire in the New Yorker, October 22nd, 2008.
Interview: Talking With the Creator of One of T.V.'s Best and Smartest Shows in Rolling Stone, September 25th, 2005.
Under the Wire from Baltimore City Paper, May 28th 2003
Q&A David Simonin Undercover Black Man (blog), January 22nd, 2007.
Exclusive Q&A with David Simonfrom The Wire on HBO (fansite), August 16th 2006
'The Wire's' David Simon from Fresh Air from WHYY, September 23rd, 2004

Check back tomorrow for the next installment in The CEM Wire podcast series, an interview with Robert Chew, the actor who portrays Prop Joe! Much more to come as well, including an interview with Andre Royo, pictured above with David Simon.

Want to set up ITUNES to automatically download these for you? Launch ITUNES. Go to the toolbar, and click on ADVANCED. Then, click "Subscribe to podcast feed." In the box that comes up, paste http://www.switchpod.com/users/cem/feed.xml. If you have any problems, email me at Jes.Phillips@gmail.com.