Ash Carter was a scientist and academic (doctoral degree in theoretical physics from Oxford). He worked in government, periodically, from Reagan onward. He knew a great deal about nuclear weapons, in particular. From 2015 to 2017, he was defense secretary. He passed away this week at 68. In December 2017, I podcasted with him. I have written about that conversation, and about Carter, here.
One highlight, maybe. We were talking about preparedness, and the danger of “building down,” when the world seems calm. Carter said,
When people asked me, “Why do we have a $600 billion defense budget? Why are you asking for that much?,” I would point to the threats of the day. But I would also say, “I am the secretary of defense not just of today but also of tomorrow, and I need to make sure that we are laying tracks to be the best in the future . . .”
I have done a Q&A podcast with Stephen Gutowski, who is an expert on guns and gun policy. If he doesn’t know it, it is probably not known. He is the founder and editor of The Reload, and an analyst with CNN. (He is also a Philly fanatic. When we talked, he was decked out in Philadelphia Phillies gear, and he is ready for the World Series.)
I have done another Q&A, a sportscast, really, with two outstanding gurus, David French and Vivek Dave. We talk some college football — the SEC vs. the Big Ten, for example. We talk some NFL — the hit on Tua, the travails of Tom Brady. We talk some NBA — what about the punch thrown by Draymond Green? And so on. A lively conversation, not without a little trash talk from Vivek, who would rather see my Michigan Wolverines lose than practically anything in the world.
Here is a music podcast, a new Music for a While. It has a variety of offerings, including Shostakovich and Britten. It ends with something unusual: an improvisation on a Mormon hymn by the late Grant Johannesen. He was a pianist, and a superb one. I heard him in my hometown long ago — Google tells me 1980.