What We Will Abide

The fourth installment of the apparently ongoing series of interviews with my father, collectively entitled "American Cynic." In this episode, my father and I review an array of unpleasant encounters: with law enforcement officers; on the basketball court; and with mysterious, vehicle-napping Manhattan "Marshals." Also, the 'best' films of all time.Twitter @SamSchindler43Facebook.com/WhatWeWillAbide/Subscribe on iTunes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The final installment of the American Cynic series surveys life in New York City in the first half of the 20th century: Mirrors shattered by errant baseball bats, squandered investment opportunities, and a street race for the ages. Also, why nobody is funny. Subscribe on iTunes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

About year ago, I interviewed my father about his past, specifically his experience as a soldier in the Vietnam War. This time, I ask him to survey his 76 years as a lay critic of American foreign and domestic policy.The conversation ranges wide as my father ruminates on presidential doings and misdoings over the course of a half century, and culminates almost inevitably in an argument about a crucial question: how tall is Henry Kissinger? Though consensus isn't reached on that key point, we can agree that old HK is probably one of the worst human beings ever.It's part 2 of American Cynic - a bit of a wild ride. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Journalist Michael Deibert has called several countries --if not continents-- home, and has written several books, including In the Shadow of Saint Death: The Gulf Cartel and the Price of America's Drug War in Mexico, and most recently Haiti Will Not Perish: A Recent History, which came out earlier this year.He’s had articles published in The Guardian, Truthdig, The Huffington Post and Slate among others. He currently resides in Lancaster, but as his résumé clearly shows, staying put isn’t exactly his game. We sat together on a relatively cool summer morning in the cemetery adjacent to St. James’ Church in the heart of Lancaster City, where he was born and the city he calls home - for now."One Rural County's Battle to Stop a Pipeline" (In These Times, 8.15.17)"Haiti: In the Kingdom of Impunity" (Huffington Post, 6.2.14)Haiti Will Not PerishIn the Shadow of Saint DeathOriginal music by Ari GoldSubscribe to What We Will Abide on iTunes See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In just a few short weeks the Stone Independent School will embark on our inaugural academic year. Two of the classes are my own creations: United States History through the lens of the economics of slavery; and the history of Israel/Palestine.I’m sharing my process for building these classes here as a means of documenting their development and ultimately charting their progress. Will I wind up doing what I set out to do? Is what I’m setting out to do well-conceived or utterly misguided? Is it too narrowly drawn? Does it skew matters without the proper proportion of self-awareness and humility? These are a few of the pitfalls I’m afraid of.A few links of note:Deborah Miranda, Bad IndianEdward Baptist, The Half Has Never Been ToldDavid Stannard, American HolocaustPascal Robert on Dead Pundits SocietySteve Sheinkin, History Writer (Hear a great interview with him on Erica Heilman's terrific podcast Rumble Strip)Norman Finkelstein on the 1967 War here; and also here.Rashid Khalidi, Palestinian Identity Mosh

This story is about pain, both mental and physical, and it’s about how these two kinds of pain are very much connected, despite our culture’s insistence that they’re not. It’s also about our unwillingness to admit that we’ve made mistakes, big mistakes, even though an admission would certainly lead to and end to suffering and the beginning of healing for large numbers of people. This is Roey Shmool's story. He is a filmmaker and an aspiring anxiety coach; two things which might seem disparate but, as his story unfurls, will have more and more in common. He lives in Minneapolis, and has for several years been at work on a documentary film about infant surgery and its aftermath. Some of his story includes discussion of our physiology, and how sometimes it breaks down and in his case, what’s been done to try and fix it.www.iknownowanxietycoach.comCover art by Roey ShmoolMusic by Nick Peterson See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A year ago, I started this podcast, in which I interview people providing local solutions to systemic problems.My wife Jamie Beth, who has known me for nearly two decades, sees me as an introvert. So, to her, this has always seemed like a strange project to take on. In this episode, she asks me why I did.Music by Sea Ray.Jamie Beth, writer  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I began my conversation with Christina Hartman as I always do, by telling the origin story of What We Will Abide, which involves seeing the world through despairing eyes. I was certainly surprised when she countered with a parallel story of her own that has played out along a similar timeline. Unlike hers, my story did not culminate in a stirring run for the congressional seat in the 16th district of the State of Pennsylvania this past election cycle. Prior to that endeavor, Christina Hartman has lived and worked in places as far flung as Uzbekistan and South Sudan, and has worked tirelessly in pursuit of human rights. About six years ago, she brought that fight home to Lancaster, and has recently shown that she's not afraid to go 12 rounds in the political ring. http://christinamhartman.com/Ralph Nader with Chris Hedges on third parties in America (2015) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mahfuz Meherzad is the president of the United Islamic Association of Lancaster County and is an adjunct Political Science professor at Chestnut Hill College and Millersville University. Prof. Meherzad and I took part in a panel discussion back in May in which five representatives of different religious backgrounds attempted to answer the question, “Does religion lead to war?” Prof. Meherzad provided a Muslim response. We also heard from those representing Hinduism, Buddhism and Mennonite Christianity. I provided the semblance of a Jewish response, cynical and ironic though it was. Thanks to the Peace Action Network of Lancaster. They plan to host further panels of this kind. Music by Nick Peterson. SUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Aryeh Bernstein is a Chicagoan, an Israeli citizen, a teacher, and a seeker of social justice. He wears his Judaism on his sleeve, as well as beneath his shirt. Each day he dons a “talit katan” with its fringes that hang from a traditional garment he wears beneath his outer clothing. It’s one of several of his daily reminders to engage in self-reflection, to recall his heritage, and to be aware that there’s something out there that’s bigger than him.Music: “Shine” by The Maccabeats.Breaking the Silence: Israeli soldiers discuss the occupied territories.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/WWWA_041_060517.mp3DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For a while now, I’ve frequently and ubiquitously espoused a theory derived largely from the work of Daniel Quinn which is this: Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for most of their existence on earth. Somewhere along the line, this way of life, built and maintained largely to be in harmony with the earth, took an acute turn, a turn toward agriculturalism, and ultimately what we know of (and often celebrate) as Civilization. What’s happened since has been nothing short of disaster.I offered this theory to Dr. Jim Delle, an anthropologist and archaeologist currently serving as an associate dean at Shippensburg University, for his consideration. What transpires is a race through about 20 thousand years of history which ends, unsurprisingly, on a bit of an alarmist note.Music by Nick Peterson.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/WWWA_040_051917.mp3DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeremiah Miller’s play, Guilty Parties of New Orleans, will be given a staged reading with seasoned actors this coming Friday night, April 28th, at Community Mennonite Church, as part of the Theater of the Seventh Sister Spoken Word series. It largely deals with the trial of Clay Laverne Shaw, a New Orleans businessman who was the only person ever officially prosecuted in connection with the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.Miller collaborated with researcher David Reitzes to recreate as yet undramatized scenes surrounding the 1967 trial of Clay Shaw, which was prosecuted by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.Music by Nick Peterson.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WWWA_039_042517.mp3DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A couple of months ago I made an amateur overture to Representative Lloyd Smucker of the 16th Congressional district of Pennsylvania to be a guest on What We Will Abide, but didn’t get a response. Perhaps I didn’t explain myself well enough the first time, so I’m giving it another go.Music by Ton-Taun.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WWWA_038_042417.mp3DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jocelyn Park is originally a street punk Quaker from Delco (Delaware County, PA). She arrived in Lancaster, PA five years ago by way of Sydney, Australia, and found that starting over socially was a daunting prospect. Since then, she has launched Lancaster Transplant, a local organization designed to connect newcomers to the city by means of…pretty much whatever works.In our conversation, Lancaster Transplant’s Founder and Creative Ace talked about how her Quaker background has shaped her life and the mission of the project, the recent new directions it has taken and the ever-evolving nature of her own role.Music by Nick PetersonEpisode cover art by Russell Foltz-Smithhttp://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WWWA_037_JocelynPark_042017.mp3DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last month, after nearly a decade as Franklin & Marshall College’s chaplain, Susan Minasian has moved on, back to her home state of Virginia, where she will serve as pastor at Sojourners United Church of Christ in Charlottesville. Her tireless work on the college campus and all across Lancaster county was renowned in both religious and secular circles.We talked about what brought her to Lancaster in the first place over three decades ago, and why she decided to start a new chapter in a familiar place. Though it ranges over several individual topics, the conversation maintains the theme of raging against injustice. Whether in the form of the Turkish program of genocide perpetrated against Armenian Christians a century ago, or working against forms of exclusive theological thought, Susan Minasian leads with her own brand of contemplative activism.Music by Ari GoldOriginal cover art by Russell Foltz-Smithhttp://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/WWWA_036_SusanMinasian_040217.mp3DOWNLOAD this episode

The fundamental flaw in our civilization is that it’s convinced itself that it’s the best way to live. But there are cracks in the drywall. In a conversation that starts off about running, veers into politics and concludes with donkeys, Christopher McDougall and I examine the damage.Then, a visit with Paul Sherban, a recent college graduate who rode 4,500 miles on his bicycle in search of slowness, not speed. He rode in effort to forget himself and found that the real lesson he learned was that he couldn’t have done it without the help of the many strangers he met along the way.This episode first aired on WLRI 93 FM on Saturday 3/25/17.From Dec 27, 2016:Christopher McDougall is well known for his 2009 book Born to Run, which, among many other things, tells the story of the Tarahumara (Rarámuri), the tribe who (literally) ran away from the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century – and never came back. The book features the stories of several colorful characters including the peripatetic run

The real story is corruption large and small: A Conestoga Board of Supervisors chairman appropriates $69 worth of mulch and doesn’t pay for it until 5 months later; the zoning board slaps The Stand’s barn with condemnation notices, seemingly out of the blue. What do these two events have in common? One, they were both part of the public discussion during the March 7th Conestoga Board of Supervisors meeting, and two, they’re both examples of abuse of power.The mysterious countdown to the launch of William’s Partners assault on Conestoga Township in the form of a pipeline continues.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WWWA_034_031517.mp3 DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In December of 2008, I interviewed my father about his experience in Vietnam. Just this past summer, I interviewed him again for What We Will Abide and it appears as Episode 16, “American Cynic.” But, back in 2008 I also interviewed my mother about how she experienced his time in the Army. After making that video recording, it sat for years, untouched. I never watched it.In the summer of 1966, my parents got married and my father got drafted. He was sent to Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas, and expected to stay there, as an on-base dentist for the full 2 years. In the fall of 1967, he was given orders – he was being sent to Vietnam.I can sort of imagine what Junction City might have looked like in 1966, and I can definitely imagine how my mother, at age 21, having lived all her life in Flushing, Queens, would have seen it. It was so disagreeable that, by comparison, Manhattan, Kansas was nearly paradise. That year, and the year that followed, my mother spent as an army wife. In this inter

The BBC recently noted that, per capita, Lancaster, PA absorbs and resettles more refugees than any other city in the United States. In fact, it’s part of the city’s heritage. Madap Sharma was one of those refugees who came to the U.S. with his family after fleeing his home country of Bhutan.Emigrating first to Maryland in 2010, Madap ultimately resettled in Lancaster, where he served for several years as the refugee resettlement director for Bethany Christian Services. Though he recently moved to Philadelphia, Madap asserts that upon arrival in Lancaster, the distinct farmland smell convinced him he’d found a worthy, comfortable new home.Madap spoke about his life as a refugee in his 2016 TEDX Talk at the Ware Center downtown, and sat down with me last October.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WWWA_032_022617.mp3Music by Ari GoldOriginal cover art by Russell Foltz-SmithDOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dear Congressman Lloyd Smucker,What We Will Abide is a Lancaster-based podcast which serves to tell stories about people who are providing local solutions to systemic problems. You want to solve local problems – that’s why you ran for congress.I invite you to take part in an interview for What We Will Abide so you can talk openly about your platform, policy initiatives, and to further detail your plans to serve Lancaster’s interests on Capitol Hill.http://samschindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/WWWA_031_022517.mp3Music by Ton-Taun.DOWNLOAD this episodeSUBSCRIBE to this podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.