I like Bachelor’s show a lot, and I’ll keep listening. But the frequent visits to the show by Prof. Stephen Cohen, who seems to be Putin’s number one booster in the USA, can be very irritating.
My main problem with those visits is this:
Even though I believe it’s OK to have Cohen as an occasional guest, Bachelor appears never to challenge the guy. In fact, John sometimes sounds even worshipful toward Steve. He just lets Steve pontificate uninterruptedly with an air of academic authority about how the West is needlessly provoking the pitiable, persecuted Russians.
Also:
Cohen is married to Katrina van den Hoevel, infamous editrix of the long-time pro-Stalinist “Nation” magazine. Sort of a red flag, doncha think?
He has several guests with whom I often disagree, especially Larry Kudlow and his gung-ho “the economy is going gangbusters” style. I disagree with Batchelor himself on a number of issues.
But overall, I find his show most informative on world events and the discussion is always more intelligent than what you can find on most other media.
I especially enjoy the book reviews. I’ve found out about a lot of good books through that avenue.
You are quite correct. I have skipped the last several weeks of Cohen. I got really upset at one point and emailed Batchelor and demanded full disclosure re: Cohen’s wife. You may have noticed for awhile, Cohen would state his relationship if referring to a piece in The Nation Mag.
I have actually learned a lot from Cohen about the Ukraines and Russians as people, and about certain cultural things and histories. But I trust NONE of his analysis. It’s straight from the Kremlin I believe... and who knows, maybe that is the point, and maybe some people smarter than me listen with a whole different ear.