SCHEDULE OF THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 5-7-2026.
1945 BERLIN.
Ian Buruma discusses his book Stay Alive, focusing on his father Leo's 1943 decision to enter mandatory labor in a Berlin factory to protect his parents from Nazi retaliation. The narrative explores Berlin's transition from a striving capital into a city facing bombings, malnutrition, and lice. (1/16)
Ian Buruma describes Joseph Goebbels as a master propagandist who used entertainment to distract Berliners from wartime horrors. He explains "unpolitical" as a psychological justification for ignoring Nazi atrocities. The segment also details the complex Nuremberg racial laws used to systematically categorize and persecute Jewish populations. (2/16)
Ian Buruma defines the wartime greeting "Stay Alive" and profiles resistors like von Moltke. He discusses jazz guitarist Coco Schumann, who survived Auschwitz by playing in a band while others were executed. The segment also covers the Wannsee Conference, where the "final solution" was organized. (3/16)
Ian Buruma details the "U-boats," young Jews living clandestine lives in Berlin without legal papers. He describes the city's descent into lawlessness following the defeat at Stalingrad. Survival became transactional, relying on the goodwill or opportunism of strangers in a society where Hitler was the law. (4/16)
Ian Buruma examines the failure of strategic bombing to break civilian morale, which instead fostered solidarity. He recounts his father's letters from a Berlin labor barracks, describing the harsh conditions of malnutrition and vermin. He also highlights diaries showing how individuals navigated the criminal regime. (5/16)
Ian Buruma discusses the moral dilemmas of survival, focusing on Stella Kübler, who betrayed other Jews to save her parents from Auschwitz. He asserts that information about the Holocaust was widely available via the BBC and soldiers' letters, meaning that for many Berliners, ignorance was a choice. (6/16)
Ian Buruma recounts the final months of the war, dominated by Goebbels' "death cult" propaganda and the film Colberg. He describes the trial of resistor von Moltke, who stood up to the sadistic judge Roland Freisler, and the eventual bombing of the court that killed the judge. (7/16)
Ian Buruma details the Soviet occupation of Berlin, characterized by mass looting and rape. He tracks the fates of his book's protagonists: his father Leo narrowly escaped execution by a Russian soldier, while resistance leader Borchardtwas tragically killed by a stray shot after liberation. (8/16)
Anatol Lieven analyzes China's diplomatic strategy, noting Beijing's desire for a Trump-Xi summit despite Middle Eastern conflicts. China aims to manage trade tariffs and stabilize Taiwan relations, believing that U.S. involvement in external wars may ultimately weaken American alliances in Asia and strengthen China's regional standing. (9/16)
Anatol Lieven analyzes reports of Vladimir Putin operating from bunkers to avoid precision strikes. He discusses Ukraine's emergence as a "drone war startup" and the resulting economic strain. Lieven notes that while the frontline remains frozen, Russian public support for the conflict is beginning to crumble. (10/16)
Rick Fisher reveals China's plans to double the size of the Tiangong space station by 2030. He warns of its military dual-use potential, suggesting the station and Shuntan telescope could serve as orbital "battle stations" for surveillance or strikes, providing China with a significant new strategic deterrent. (11/16)
Rick Fisher explores the militarization of the Moon, citing Chinese interest in lunar radar and "moon hoppers" for resource discovery. He describes a technological competition with the U.S. involving nuclear power plants, lasers, and satellite constellations intended for both peaceful research and potential offensive or defensive combat. (12/16)
Veronique de Rugy critiques government-matched savings plans like the "Trump IRA." She argues these technocratic fixes add to the national debt without addressing core tax code flaws. She highlights how high penalties for early withdrawals and payroll taxes effectively discourage lower-income workers from saving for the future. (13/16)
Jim McTague examines the AI boom, noting the high valuation of DeepSeek and its use of black-market chips. He discusses a lawsuit against Character AI for unlicensed medical advice and the economic impact of data centers, which provide local tax revenue but consume significant real estate. (14/16)
Ken Croswell describes the Milky Way's structure as a barred spiral galaxy. He explains that the central bar exerts massive gravitational force. This gravity has trapped billions of "Trojan stars" into two vast whirlpools, similar to how Jupiter's gravity captures Trojan asteroids in its orbit. (15/16)
Ken Croswell details the discovery of the "Hercules stream," stars resonating with the galaxy's central bar. He notes that as the bar's rotation slows, there is a 20% chance Earth's solar system will join this "exclusive club" of Trojan stars in two billion years, changing our galactic position. (16/16)
Ireland