The Musical Innertube

Edward Hopper: An American Love Story is a film where the artist Hopper meets the filmmaker Phil Grabsky.  The result is a loving look at the art and artist - and his long-neglected wife - by a man w…

In 375 BC, the philosopher Plato wrote Republic; in it, Socrates says democracy leads to tyranny. Dr. Lantern Jack, a podcaster and doctor of ancient philosophy, says the problems with democracy duri…

Here we are again, coming up on another election that will determine the fate of America! Political commentator Dick Polman looks at the claims, the ads and the debates that are coloring the contest …

Folklorist Cory Hutcheson is back to tell us about the witches that live among us today! (Don and John's Halloween suggestion: buy a bottle of Pine-Sol and head for the crossroads!) 

From Oct 15, 2020:  What are the challenges facing radio newscasters in today's 24-hour, non-stop news cycle? WBAL Radio news anchor Robert Lang says there are fewer of them, and there's lots more to…

From Jul 9, 2020: Nell McCormack Abom is a journalist and head of her own public relations firm. She talks about the state of the media, television news, and the perfect Pennsylvania vacation spot.

From Jul 2, 2020: Meet Glenn Hamilton, a radio personality and Program Director, who talks about the now and the future of radio. Plus, he's a pretty fair musician to boot!

Katherine Ramsland is a professor of forensic psychology. If that sounds boring to you, you probably think Indiana Jones is just an archeologist. Spend some quality time with the author of "The I Scr…

When Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker died, the Musical Innertube was a comedy sketch show. Don and John decided to use an episode to remember Becker and Steely Dan, and changed the Innertube in t…

Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor at Atlantic Magazine and Senior Political Analyst for CNN, has written Rock Me on the Water, about how 1974 was a watershed year for culture and politics -- when the med…

In 1968 the Sunday Times of London sent Lewis Chester and 2 other reporters to the U.S. to cover the Nixon-Humphrey presidential campaign. Here, Lewis talks about that time and the book he and his fe…

On October 7th the salsa music program "Alma Del Barrio" will celebrate 50 years on the air on KXLU-FM in Los Angeles! Kiki Soto tells how he helped put the show on the air, how he and dozens of othe…

Baseball is a funny game -- you can win 100 games and miss the playoffs, and a Wild Card team can win the World Series. Sweeny, Nick, Rob, John and Don look at the favorites and the surprises in this…

Netflix is the streaming service that helped create "binge watching." But now it's losing subscribers and may have to insert ads in programs. Is this the end? Media expert Robert Thompson has some id…

The most musical thing about the Musical Innertube is our theme song, played by the virtual band Car Radio Dog. Musicians Richard Lindsey and Kevin Timpane join John to talk about their virtual band.

Last year, a broken foot kept Julie McKelvey off Denali.  This year, she topped that mountain, and climbed the highest point at the bottom of the world to boot!

The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope are amazing, and Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society says they're changing the way we think about the universe.

After a two-year, pandemic-imposed hiatus, the San Diego Comic-Con returns to hosting in-person attendees this year. Gary Sassaman tells tales of working for the Con, designing program books as well …

It's genius! Track down the owners of car vanity license plates and find out what they mean -- and get an interesting back story to boot!  Isaac Klein tells Don and John how he came up with his terri…

At this point in our history, you may be asking yourself, "Where, exactly, is this country headed?"  Columnist Dick Polman has some interesting answers, starting with the fact that Ireland may have a…