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For this Park Bench Chat edition of Bar Crawl Radio podcast we talked about the changing nature of the New York City theatre review and how Tik Tok might be dumbing down the craft of the NYC theatre critic. Joining us on a park bench in the "You've Got Mail" Riverside Park Promenade are two NYC Theatre Critics -- David Cote and Zoe Kaplan. David Cote is a playwright, librettist, song writer, actor and director -- and the longest serving drama critic of Time Out New York. His reviews have appeared in Opera News, The Village Voice, The Guardian and The New York Times – and elsewhere. And with us is Zoe Kaplan whose day job is as a Content Marketing Manager.
Earlier, Zoe demystified the world of work for Gen Zers and before that she managed reproductive and hormone health content for OOVA. Zoe writes a theater Substack called -- Not to Be Dramatic.
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NYC's Upper West Siders might know the 142 year-old, block long, many-storied, red-brick building on Amsterdam Avenue at 103rd Street.
Completed in 1883 and designed by Gilded Age architect Robert Morris Hunt – famed for the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. – the base of the Statue of Liberty – the front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art – this building, on Amsterdam and 103rd Street, opened as the Association Residence for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females. In the late 1960s, it was set to be torn down. BUT – in time – was saved in great part due to the efforts of two of our guests -- and was resurrected as a major youth hostel inviting visitors from all over the world looking to experience NYC up close and personal.
Former Manhattan Borough President and City Council member Ruth Messinger and Bloomington Historial Pam Tice joined us to tell the story of Hunt’s building -- a story that encompasses the history of NYC – both its wealth and inconsistent goal to provide dignity to its citizens.
This BCR program was recorded at 5 Napkin Burger Bar on Broadway and W. 84th St.
Alan Winson
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“Stop the Chop” exists to eliminate non-essential helicopters from the skies above New York City – because – according to the "Stop the Chop" website: “Tourist, charter and commuter helicopter flights dramatically reduce the quality of life for millions of people in the metropolitan area. They pollute our environment, pose significant safety risks, harm our children, and make us miserable”
It was a hot, second day of summer afternoon in Riverside Park – at the “You’ve Got Mail” promenade and garden. We sat on a bench and talked with our UWS neighbors about their concerns and questions regarding the Helicopter racket that invades our peaceful moments.
Two experts, on the effects of the copter cacophony on our health and enjoyment of the our city parks, joined us -- Melissa Elstein and Ken Coughlin; both long-time NYC community organizers and environmental activists. Melissa was recently on BCR program #221 talking about “Love Your Street Tree Day” sponsored by the “West 80s Neighborhood Association”
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Day 33 -- Veteran's For Peace "Fast for Gaza."
This will be the final of the "Fast for Gaza" conversations with peacemaker Kathy Kelly. It was the beginning of a brutal heat wave in NYC; we found a shady spot on the UN side of 1st Avenue. On the opposite side a small group of fasting protestors held signs and umbrellas.
Kathy and I talked about her 2004 book "Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison" -- focusing on the chapter "Change Agents" -- when she was visited in Pekin Prison by two FBI agents. Kathy talks about the families and children she got to know during her many visits to Iraqi hospitals during the decades-long UN / US sanctions on Iraq. UNICEF reported that 500,000 children under the age of five died between 1991 and 1998 due to those sanctions. Kelly's "Voices in the Wilderness" worked to bring medical supplies to those beleaguered people.
The music in this program is “Hiroshima Rising from the Abyss" performed by the Toshiko Akiyoshi / Lew Tabackin Jazz Band, featuring drummer Andy Watson.
Alan Winson
barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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Day 26 -- Veterans for Peace "Fast for Gaza. This BCR podcast begins and ends with music -- "Let My People Go" -- from “System Ali” – nine musicians -- Jewish and Arab -- singing in their native languages – Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Yiddish, Amharic and English.
My conversation with Kathy Kelly continues as Israel and Iran exchange missiles and killer drones. She arrived at the vigil at the US Mission to the UN a bit late because she had been attending a meeting of faith NGOs hearing a report from two Palestinians and an Israeli about suffering in Gaza of which few are aware. Banks are closed making any normal business impossible. The cost of leaving is astronomical and movement within Gaza is impossible.
I sat down with Kathy on a metal bench on the United Nations side of the street. She opened her notebook and shared what she had learned.
Alan Winson
barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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Day 23 -- VFP Fast for Gaza. I spoke with peacemaker Kathy Kelly and former member of the US AirForce Joy Metzler and asked them about their life choices that led them to join the "Fast for Gaza."
Joy Metzler, 23, is a member of VFP and co-founder of Serivcemembers For Ceasefire – US military veterans calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza. Joy graduated from the USAF Academy in 2023 and was discharged as a conscientious objector citing “US aggression in the Middle East and the murderous ethnic cleansing in Palestine.” I asked Joy what she would say to the young US Marines recently deployed to the streets of Los Angeles in support of ICE.
The night before our conversation -- Israel attacked Iran's military structures and leadership. While we sat on a metal bench outside the United Nations, the Security Council was preparing to hold an emergency meeting. This program begins with a statement by the United Kingdom Ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, calling for calm in the Middle East.
Alan Winson
BCR Podcast
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Monday – June 9, 2025 -- 19th day of the VFP Fast for Gaza -- talking with peacemaker Kathy Kelly and friends, as they consume no more than 250 calories a day for 40 days in solidarity with the citizens of Gaza who have been forced to exist on very little sustenance
This program begins with a Democracy Now! report on the seizure of the Gaza-bound aid ship – Madleen – in international waters by Israeli forces.
When I arrived at the US Mission – Kathy Kelly was asking Bill Tottenham -- U.S. Marine veteran and VFP representative -- about his attempt to get big media to report on the “Fast for Gaza” VFP protest.
I then spoke with Kelly about an early morning decision to walk from the U.S. Mission on 1st Avenue -- to the United Kingdom Mission to the UN several blocks to the north -- to raise awareness about the Israeli seizure of the yacht -- Madleen – operated by the Pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
I spoke with several of the fasters as we walked. At Rockefeller Center, security pushed the fasters out of the area and at St. Patrick Cathedral, NYP officers ordering the fasters off the north porch.
Mike Ferner of the VFP promised that for the rest of the "Fast for Gaza" protest, these walks would continue with a focus on the New York Times building.
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This is Day 16 of the Veterans for Peace "40-Day Fast for Gaza."
Since May 22, 2025, I’ve been talking with peacemaker Kathy Kelly who has been fasting to raise awareness about how the citizens of Gaza are starving. It is the day before Eid al-Adha – the Muslim Festival of Sacrifice remembering Ibrahim or Abraham’s readiness to kill his son for his God. I sat down with Kathy Kelly and Brian Terrell of Malloy Iowa -- a Catholic Worker and worker for peace – he was in town to receive the 2025 Pax Christi Peacemaker Award
We sat on a bench in the shade on the United Nations side of 1st Avenue. I shared an email I recently received from Ariella Dubrowin – an American-Israeli – who works as a lactation consultant and who calls for the destruction of Hamas as one step in protecting her country from its many enemies. She had been listening to these podcast and had some questions for the Fasters which were used to organize this conversation with Kathy and Brian.
At the end of the 35 minute program, Kathy reads from her recent article entitled “The Prisons of Gaza and Home – Fast for Gaza – Day 14”
Alan Winson
barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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Monday - Day 12 of the 40 day fast -- Veterans for Peace's "Fasting for Gaza.
I met up with peacemaker Kathy Kelly as she was starting a Zoom call with Global Solidarity for Peace in Palestine. Afterward, I asked her about Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who spoke at the meeting regarding his arguments for a one state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, her fears for one forgotten student picked up by Trump's ICE force -- Columbia student Leqaa Kordia -- and the dangers of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
I will be speaking with Kathy as she continues her 250 calorie-a-day fast about her concerns with the state of humanity. Let me know if there are any questions you would like to ask Kathy.
Alan Winson -- barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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Friday - Day 9 of the 40 day fast -- Veterans for Peace's "Fasting for Gaza." When I arrived at the US Mission across from the United Nations in Manhattan, a dozen peace activists where facing 1st Avenue with their signs calling Israel and the United States to feed the Palestinians of Gaza. I first spoke with Mike Ferner -- Mike Ferner – a Vietnam War Veteran and former city council member of Toledo, Ohio, author, and peace activist – who had protested US war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. We talked about not eating; Mike was holding up quite well with his 250 calorie-a-day diet.
I then had a longer conversation with Ms. Kelly who reported on her meeting with the Irish Ambassador to the United Nations and the need for Israel to uphold trade deals with the European Union. She explained how the Irish people understood starvation and famine in their genes and that young Irish artists -- the rap group KneeCap -- support a Palestinian state.
If you have any questions for Kathy Kelly -- email me -- Alan Winson -- at barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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I am talking with peace activist and Nobel Peace nominee Kathy Kelly as she fasts for 40 days in solidarity with the Palestinian people starving in Gaza. This is the sixth day of her fast.
I first spoke with Catholic Worker Martha Hennessy -- granddaughter of Dorothy Day -- about the portrait of the U.S. President glowering behind the streetside glass wall of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
I then found Ms. Kelly who was accompanied by about 15 other supporters of the Veterans for Peace protest of the Israeli food blockade to Gaza. Kathy shared her approach to a long fast and the work that she continues to end war. She also commented on the recent -- suspect -- efforts by the Israeli government to bring food to the Palestinians in Gaza.
I will talk to Kathy again on Friday -- Day 9 of the "Fast for Gaza."
Alan Winson -- barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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A NEW BCR SERIES:
Starting on May 22, 2025, several peace activist will fast for 40 days -- vigiling in front of the United States Mission to the UN. They demand an end to US support of Israel's military and urge the American government to pressure Israel to open the Gazan borders to humanitarian aid.
For this BCR series I will meet with one of these fasters -- Kathy Kelly -- periodically, and ask her to share her thoughts and concerns.
Share your thoughts about this action at barcrawlradio@gmail.com or mike@veteransforpeace.org
Alan Winson -- BCR Producer and Co-Host
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We were out in Riverside Parks at the "You've Got Mail" Promenade bench of our choice talking with NYCSleepDoctor.com Dr, Janet Kennedy. The tourist helicopters were ubiquitous and our UWS neighbors had many questions for Dr. Kennedy about their sleep issues. If there is one thing I learned from this conversation is that a good night's sleep is basic to good health and an interesting life. Listening to Janet's expert advice will probably push you to a more wakeful existence.
Alan Winson
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West Side Community Garden on May 25, 2025 –
Joseph Darcourt is an American-born Peruvian-Taiwanese cellist who has been honored by three US presidents. When he was 12 -- he debut at Carnegie Hall. And at 16 he began researching the power of music at Columbia University.
This program features Mr. Darcourt performing Bach's Cello Suite #1 in G Major. I caught up with Joseph a few weeks after the concert to talk about his music and scientific studies. Joseph todl me about how he started studying the cello when he was 10 and the two national competitions he won which led to a couple of performances at Carnegie Hall at 12 – and how that experience led him to study how music can be used for medical purposes.
We are Bar Crawl Radio Podcast – let us know what you think of our programming at barcrawlradio@gmail.com
Alan Winson
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Ross Barkan’s newest novel “Glass Century” is a panoramic story of New York City from our crime-ridden 70s. through the tragedy of 9/11 to the COVID lockdowns.
The story focuses on Mona Glass a photojournalist in love with tennis and a married man. For this BCR podcast, we are not so interested in Mona Glass as the character in a novel but as a lens into the experiences of an American journalist and novelist and the author of “Glass Century” – Ross Barkan.
For Bar Crawl Radio podcast. we talk to people doing positive work for their community, recording in neighborhood bars. Today at Gebhard’s Beer Culture Bar on the fun side of West 72nd Street – because facing us is the mortuary across the street. We are alive and sitting on the porch with New York Times writer Ross Barkan.
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A conversation with two veterans of American wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan – about their work with “We Are Not Your Soldiers” – informing high school and college students about the morally unpleasant truths of the US military.
In 2008 the anti-war organization – “World Can’t Wait” -- invited American war veterans to share their military experiences with high school and college students – challenging the American culture’s overly positive patriotic narratives.
Joe Urgo grew up in a white conservative, middle-class NYC neighborhood. He tells young Americans about his experiences in Vietnam in the US Air Force. In 1971 -- Mr. Urgo helped organize the Winter Soldier Investigation detailing the war crimes of American soldiers in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Shaniyat Turani-Chowdhury is a freelance investigative journalist living in Queens, NY. He writes about Middle East politics, war and climate change – and most recently reported on the effect of Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese people. In 2020 Shanityat ran for Congress on a Free Palestine platform.
CONTACT: barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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For this BCR series I have been asking American peacemakers: “What are we talking about when we talk about ‘The American’?”
This program looks to a Jesuit priest and peacemaker Thomas Merton. At the end of “The Root of War” published in The Catholic Worker in 1962 – Thomas Merton wrote – “The first job of all is to understand the psychological forces at work in ourselves and in society.” That in a nutshell is the purpose of my conversations with American peacemakers.
Merton’s autobiography -- “The Seven Storey Mountain” -- is about “a young man who led a full and worldly life and then, at the age of 26, entered a Trappist monastery.” In Kentucky, Merton focused his thoughts and prayers on nonviolence and influenced all the major peacemakers of the second half of the 20th Century -- Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tuto, the Berrigans, Dorothy Day and on and on --
Father John Dear will help us delve into Merton’s non-violence. Dear was born in North Carolina – graduated with top honors from Duke University – received two masters degrees in theology – and was ordained a Catholic Jesuit priest in Baltimore in 1993. John has worked with people scheduled to executed – served at a community center for low-income African-American women and children in Virginia – worked as pastor to parishes in the high desert of New Mexico and founded Pax Christi New Mexico. Worked at a Jesuit Refugee camp in El Salvador. On and on –
In a recent email, John described himself as follows:
Just so you know, like Merton, Dorothy Day, and Dan Berrigan, I consider myself a Christian anarchist. I'm done with America.
It helps to be arrested 85 times and spend time in jail and have several felony convictions. I don't believe in America; I think it's all a lie.If anything, we're global citizens, or citizens of God's reign of universal love and peace. We're all one.
That's where I'm at; and I get that from those three -- very few hold it.
If this sounds like something you want to ask me about, then ok, let's talk,
All the best, peace,
John
In January 2014 Dear left the Jesuits for reasons that become obvious in this conversation.
Alan WInson
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This is the third in the BCR series "Talking About The American" -- We are asking American peacemakers to try to explain how they see the qualities of our countrymen. This episode – How’d we do with AIDS?
I was in Syracuse for a Veterans for Peace pro-Palestine rally at the James M. Hanley Federal Building. Before the rally I had breakfast with Christian Caurla – an Italian journalist – at the home of Michael Desalvo -- where he and his partner Nick Orth – have provided home-based care for people with AIDS since October 1992.
That morning -- Michael served Chris and me a delicious frittata with brussels sprouts. While we ate – I asked Michael about the Syracuse Friends of Dorothy Catholic Worker House which he and his partner renovated – and about their early hospice work with people with AIDS.
Michael supports the Dorothy House with his work as a hairdresser.
CONTACT Alan Winson barcrawlradio@gmail.com
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