The Politically Social Podcast

Today we have with us Attorney Michael Bachner.

Michael Bachner is a prominent American criminal defense and securities litigation attorney in New York City.  He has represented numerous high-profile figures in the political, sports, entertainment, and business communities, and is frequently quoted by national media outlets like CNN and ABC News as a Legal Expert.  Michael Bachner started his career as an associate for prestigious criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, with whom he occasionally works to defend clients in very high-profile trials

Michael was a former Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office serving under the Hon. Robert M. Morgenthau, in the Narcotics Bureau, the Trial Bureau, and in the Rackets Bureau in the initial years of his career. In 1987 Bachner joined the Law Department of Prudential Securities, and in 1988 he opened his own law practice.

 He has represented several notable figures, including former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, former Sean P. Diddy Combs bodyguard Anthony Jones, former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, actor Robert Iler and Caroline Giuliani (daughter of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani).

In his earlier career, he represented several organized crime figures including John Papa, who was convicted of a series of mob-related homicides. He also successfully cross-examined Jordan Belfort, the so-called "Wolf of Wall Street", in a high profile stock-fraud trial.

Today we plan on talking about Former President Donald Trump’s indictment and will focus on any inconsistencies in the law. 

Today we have with us, Captain. Reyne O’ Shaughnessy. Reyne served as a commercial airline pilot for over 34 years for a Fortune 50 company, and captained Boing 767/757, 747,727, Airbus 300/310 aircrafts, with over 10,000 hours of total heavy jet flight time logged. Notably, thirty four years ago Reyne was one of the first women boeing 747 qualified. Captain Reyne is the founder of Piloting 2 Wellbeing and recently co-found Aviation Health and Wellbeing Institute. Both organizations are founded on the premise that focus on providing a new vision of aviation safety, performance, and learning.

Captain Reyne has over a decade of experience as a wellness strategist with a particular focus on mindfulness-based training. She is a visionary leader who brings a clear idea of how the future of mental health and performance in aviation should look.

Her mission is to help pilots and aviation students navigate the regulated system of aviation in order to keep them flying healthy and her key focus is working on ensuring that aviation professionals know how to balance their physical & mental health and take care of their nutrition & well-being.

In 1997 Sewickley Chamber of Commerce honored her as the Citizen of the year.

Today we have with us, Jacy Chavira. Jacy was prescribed puberty blockers at the age of 13, transitioned during adolescence, and then stopped treatment at 18. She has strongly advocated self-acceptance, removing religious and social stigma, and more importantly dealing with the discomfort of puberty naturally as opposed to a medical transition to adolescence.

Today we are going to talk about gender stigma, the side effects of puberty blockers, and what kind of an impact it has on people. Jacy thank you so much for joining us today.

Today we have with us Mr. Peter Kellner once again. The last time we spoke was when Borris Johnson had announced his resignation.

Peter Jon Kellner is an English journalist, former BBC Newsnight reporter, political commentator, and former president of the YouGov opinion polling organization in the United Kingdom. He is known for his appearances on TV, especially at election times. He has also been a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and the Institute for Policy Studies, London, and has advised several large corporations.[4] He is the former chairman of NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) and Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europe.

In 2011, he received a Special Recognition Award from the Political Studies Association for his achievements in "bringing polling and intelligent use of numbers and figures to election coverage". (From Wikipedia)

Our topic today is - What Led To The Resignation Of Liz Truss and The Rise of Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister of The United Kingdom.

Today we have with us, Retired Detective, John Baeza. He was involved in hundreds of criminal investigations in his 20-year law enforcement career. Det. Baeza began his career as a New York State Correction Officer; worked patrol in Harlem's 32nd Precinct, and served as an undercover police officer and detective in the Manhattan North Narcotics and Major Case Units. Thereafter he transferred to the Manhattan Special Victims Squad, where he was responsible for the investigation of sex crimes, serial rape, sexual homicide, and child abuse. In his career, he won two exceptional merit and two commendation awards for acts of bravery involving personal risk to life and eight exceptional police duty awards for intelligent acts contributing to a valuable accomplishment.

Det. Baeza went on to become the Director of Security, United States Presidential Campaign, for Senator Rand Paul. 

Det. Baeza is a diplomate at the International Association of Forensic Investigators (IAFI) – Criminal Investigation, Criminal Profiling. In 2022, Det. Baeza has been inducted into the National Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame-Courage in Service Award. 

He has been published in the Journal of Behavioral Profiling and books such as the Rape Investigation Handbook, among other publications. Det Baeza regularly appears on media channels and shows including Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and America’s Most Wanted. Det. Baeza, our team is truly honored to have you with us today.

Our topic today is - Why are so many minors under 19, joining armed robbery gangs like “Own Every Dollar” in New York City, and what challenges does the NYPD face while trying to curb gang robberies?

Today we have with us, Jillian Snider. Jillian is a retired NYPD officer who spent the majority of her career working in special operations.  She has appeared as a subject matter expert on a variety of media outlets, including  CNN, MSNBC, and NewsNation. Jillian is the policy director for R Street Institute where she leads their Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties team providing research and commentary on public policy related to all stages of the justice system.  She also currently serves as an Adjunct lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Our topic today is - Why are many minors under 19, joining armed robbery gangs like “Own Every Dollar” in New York, and what challenges does the NYPD face while trying to curb gang robberies?

Daniel K. Williams is a professor of history at the University of West Georgia and the author of Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement before Roe v. Wade and God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right.  His articles have appeared in Christianity Today, First Things, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.  He blogs at the Anxious Bench (Patheos).

Today we will talk about the history of the pro-life movement before Roe v. Wade, its roots in social justice, what changes with Roe v. Wade now overturned, and what happens in exceptional circumstances including rape. 

Here is the Amazon link to the books written by Prof. Williams - 

https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-K.-Williams/e/B004EZTBDE%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Today we have with us, Mr. Peter Kellner. Peter Jon Kellner is an English journalist, former BBC Newsnight reporter, political commentator, and former president of the YouGov opinion polling organization in the United Kingdom. He is known for his appearances on TV, especially at election times. He has also been a visiting fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and the Institute for Policy Studies, London, and has advised several large corporations. He is the chairman of NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) and Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europe.

In 2011, he received a Special Recognition Award from the Political Studies Association for his achievements in "bringing polling and intelligent use of numbers and figures to election coverage.

Our topic today is - What forced Borris Johnson to resign?

Doctor Helena Herr, the author of the fin whale study that was quoted everywhere from the New York Times to CNN about how the oceans are showing signs of hope, said in an exclusive interview with The Current Affairs Times on Thursday, “I think it is a trap if you witness some great natural event to extrapolate (that) to the whole ocean. Just because we have a positive sign in one place, that doesn’t mean the ocean is healthy again.”

She points to climate change, overfishing, and pollution as key issues facing the planet and the world’s oceans. But that doesn’t necessarily address why we are seeing growing numbers of charismatic megafauna. 

Dr. Robert A. Sanders is a retired U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) Captain, a legal/national security educator, a former federal government organization counsel, and private industry military communications and weapons systems engineer. For more than two decades he developed the critical thinking of diverse groups of global leaders and supported the international human rights, international law, military, and diplomatic objectives of the United States. He has served as a staff attorney and legislative director working with the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, as a federal civil defense counsel, and as a federal criminal prosecutor and defense counsel in the United States, afloat on Navy ships, and overseas. He was previously a U.S. Naval War College Military Law and Operations Professor (2014-2019); Director, U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (2011-2014); Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Legal Service Office, North Central (2007 and 2009-2011); Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General (Military Personnel) (2007-2009); the in-country legal mentor for the Afghan National Army’s 1st Judge Advocate General and the Ministry of Defense’s 1st General Counsel equivalent (2004-2005).

Today we discuss the law behind the recent executive order on the declassification review of certain documents concerning the 9/11 Attacks

Today we have with us staff judge advocate for Air Force Materiel Command Col. Eric Mejia. He received his undergraduate degree from Arkansas State University and his J.D. from the University of Arkansas. He’s served in a number of roles as an Air Force attorney, including as an area defense counsel. 
 
Currently, as the senior military attorney for a major Air Force headquarters, Col Mejia leads a team of over 460 attorneys and paralegals at 18 legal offices. His team provides legal support to the command staff for an organization of 89,000 personnel, who manage $60 billion annually in research, development, test, and evaluation, and oversee the acquisition, modernization, and sustainment of weapon systems for the United States Air Force.
 
Our topic today is Major General William Cooley’s conviction. Maj Gen Cooley was relieved of command of the Air Force Research Laboratory and later court-martialed.

This week we spoke with Chris Bugbee, a conservation activist who has taken the Feds to court over Cattle Grazing. We spoke to Chris as part of an ongoing investigation into Cattle Grazing on public land by private parties.

Today we have with us Attorney Ryan Guilds - Attorney Guilds represented the victim in the case against Gen. William Cooley. Mr. Guilds has nearly two decades of experience and is a recognized national victims’ rights expert who represents survivors of crime in connection with the investigation and prosecution of their assailants. Under his leadership, the law firm Arnold & Porter represented dozens of sexual assault survivors in both civilian and military proceedings pro bono. He is on the board of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, the honorary board of Protect Our Defenders, and is the former board chair of the Network for Victim Recovery of DC.

Lt Col. (ret.) Rachel E. VanLandingham is a national security law expert and former judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) who was appointed to the Southwestern Law School full-time faculty as a Professor of Law in Fall 2014. She teaches criminal law, constitutional criminal procedure, and national security law. 

During Professor VanLandingham's military career, she served as a senior legal advisor on the international law of armed conflict, military prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, appellate defense attorney, and nuclear surety inspector, stationed in the United States.

Today we discuss Gen. William Cooley’s conviction. 

Today we have with us, Professor Eugene Volokh. Prof. Volokh.  Prof. Volokh teaches Constitutional Law at the UCLA School of Law. Before coming to UCLA, he clerked for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor at the U.S. Supreme Court. Volokh is the author of the textbooks The First Amendment and Related Statutes (6th ed. 2016), Academic Legal Writing (5th ed. 2013), and over 90 law review articles. He is the founder and co-author of The Volokh Conspiracy, a leading legal blog. His law review articles have been cited by opinions in many Supreme Court cases and several hundred court opinions in total and several thousand scholarly articles. Today, we analyze the legal repercussions and possibilities of overturning Roe v. Wade.

Good Morning everyone, welcome to the politically social podcast brought to you by The Current Affairs Times. I am your host Afia Sengupta. Today we have with us former senior NYPD Detective Sergeant Joseph L Giacalone. Today, we are addressing the issues and challenges that the police force faces while making every effort to prevent crimes similar to those committed by Frank James in NYC. 

Professor Joseph L. Giacalone is a retired NYPD Detective Sergeant who held many prestigious positions during his more than 20-year career. Most of his career was dedicated to conducting and supervising major criminal investigations. He was the Executive Officer of the 110th Precinct Detective Squad in Queens and the Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad. He was responsible for managing hundreds of cold case homicides and missing persons cases. 

Currently, Professor Giacalone is an Adjunct in the Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration Department. He is the author of The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators published by Looseleaf Law, Inc., now in its third edition.

Current Affairs Times reporter, Christopher German sits down to talk with Eric Balkin, director of The Glen Canyon Institute. In this interview, they discuss the latest in the Western Drought including a recent federal announcement to release 500,000-acre feet of water into Lake Powell. This announcement comes despite concerns from critics that this is a stop-gap solution when is what is needed now is decisive action to avert further damages from an impending water crisis in the American Southwest.

Francisco Puebla manages the Saifee Hardware store in the East Village. He is one of the heroes that helped the NYPD get Frank James, the man who opened fire in a Brooklyn Subway. Today, we are honored to tell you Francisco Puebla’s story, his concerns, and the details of what exactly happened the day the New York Police caught Frank James.

There are still concerns about security and we humbly request our readers to hear Francisco Puebla's story and support his request of getting status in the US after all that he did for New Yorkers.  

Today we talk about the prevailing social issues in China. The whole world read about the mysterious chaining of a woman in China. A video shows a chain running from her neck to a wall inside a doorless shed. This is shocking.

Today we speak to Yaqiu Wang.  Yaqiu Wang is a senior researcher on China at Human Rights Watch, working on issues like internet censorship, freedom of expression, protection of civil society and human rights defenders, and women’s rights. She has provided commentary to the BBC, CNN, and the New York Times, among others. 

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Wang worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists. Wang has a MA degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and her articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, among many others