Eyewitness History

James Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He was best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on HBO World Championship Boxing for 30 years. He also had covered a record 14 Olympic Games on U.S. television, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. From a national talent hunt, the network interviewed 432 candidates for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Lampley got the job. That launched a unique 46-year odyssey in the worlds of television network and radio sports, news and entertainment during which Lampley fulfilled contracts with ABC Sports, ABC News, CBS Sports, CBS News, NBC Sports, Turner Network Sports, and a variety of radio stations and networks, TV syndicators and motion picture studios. Among an interminable laundry list of identities and accomplishments in commercial media, Lampley’s fourteen Olympics television assignments, most of them as a studio host, are the largest number for any American broadcaster. In his last and most beloved television arc, he spent 31 years as host of boxing and Wimbledon tennis for the incomparable content curator, HBO, and as senior reporter for that network’s Realsports won the last two of his five Emmys. Source: https://comm.unc.edu/people/department-faculty/jim-lampley/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Fenelon is the paratrooper-turned-author of Four Hours of Fury, the untold story of the American 17th Airborne Division’s combat jump over Germany’s Rhine River in March 1945. His most recent book, Angels Against the Sun, follows the 11th Airborne Division’s campaign through the Pacific and their eventual landing in Japan as the vanguard of the occupation forces. As an author, Fenelon leverages his military service to provide readers with engaging accounts of average GIs swept up by events beyond their control. His desire to give readers a “boots on the ground” perspective is reflected in his narrative-driven writing style. Fenelon’s avid interest and dedication to the study of WWII combat has taken him to numerous battlefields and historically-related sites, including those in France, Italy, Britain, Holland, Belgium, Egypt, Greece, Germany and Crete. He is a regular contributor to World War II magazine and has been previously published in FlyPast, Britain’s largest selling aviation magazine as well as ARMY and Military History. With his expertise in military history, he has consulted as a technical advisor for video games, screenplays and documentaries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Serving as a covert operations officer for the CIA, Valerie Plame kept her occupation and identity a secret, even from her closest family and friends. All that changed in 2003 when a conservative columnist, at the direction of senior White House officials, leaked her true identity. It was payback for her then husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, questioning the administration’s primary rationale for the Iraq war. It ended her covert career and set off a political scandal that rocked the Bush/Cheney White House. ​These days, this mother of college-aged twins is a best-selling author, public speaker, consultant, and advocate for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Find out more about her “Spies, Lies, and Nukes” conference this November at: https://www.spiesliesnukes.com/ Valerie’s Website: https://www.valerieplame.com/ Full “Real Time with Bill Maher” Source: https://rb.gy/qm0mrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eugene Smith joined Peoples Temple in 1973 and lived in the Temple’s San Francisco commune before leaving for Jonestown in fall 1977. He was in Georgetown on November 18 clearing items from customs. Numerous members of his family – including his mother, wife, and infant son – died in Jonestown. Eugene is the author of the 2021 book, Back to the World: A Life after Jonestown.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allan Havey is an actor, comedian, writer, and talk show host. He was the host, writer and executive producer of Night After Night with Allan Havey, which aired on The Comedy Channel from 1989-1992. He’s known for portraying Lou Avery on AMC’s “Mad Men” and Karl Allerd on Showtime’s “Billions”. He made numerous appearances on the David Letterman show (on both CBS and NBC) and created two Cable Ace Award nominated performances for HBO, “One Night Stand” and “Command Performance”. Find out more about him at: https://allanhavey.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Organized Crime and Punishment: A History and Crime Podcast, historian Steve Guerra and his trusty sidekick “Mustache Chris'' explore the rise of organized crime in various regions of the world and delve into the lives of some of the most renowned criminals and notorious gangsters. Every week, you’ll hear historical recollections and exclusive interviews about everything organized crime, from the American Mafia to modern-day cartels!Start listening now and take the journey through the shadowy world of organized crime, exploring its history, impact, and ongoing influence on our societies today!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/organized-crime-and-punishment/id1690217862 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5peY6z7nFz8Q7tZNqK9JOc?si=70d9eb49cfd44c14 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anne Marie works with NGO's and private companies to develop and fund their organizations and projects. She has hosted fundraisers for political campaigns from NY City Council to the NY Governors race and Presidential bids. Clients include, United Cerebral Palsy Research & Education (CEO Paul Volcker) as well as Tom Cruise and his 9/11 NY Detox Project. She creates and produces unique events from small, private dinners, to wine tastings and large scale stadium venues . As the former President of New York From the Ground Up, a 9/11 small business lobby (co-founded with Kevin Curnin, Jeanine Chanes and Arielle Goodman), they helped break through and redefine HUD regulations. FTGU was instrumental in reshaping public policy to help deliver federal funds and grant monies to assist small business owners in rebuilding the Ground Zero Community. Honored by League of Woman Voters as a Woman of Distinction. Honorary co-chair of the Congressional Small Business Advisory Board of NYC for three years. Two national leadership awards from Congress. A 9/11 Manhattan Chamber of Commerce award was presented to From the Ground Up for their leadership and advocacy. Anne Marie was previously a Non Partisan Political writer for The Examiner. To find out more about her petition, click here: https://www.change.org/p/you-promised-to-never-forget?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_34325637_en-US%3A8&recruiter=895007848&recruited_by_id=bbb1b420-a3df-11e8-b166-6d0b6cd0f77f&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=share_petition&share_bandit_exp=initial-34325637-en-USSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Henk Rogers is the President of the Tetris Company and a pioneer in the video game industry. In the 1980s, Rogers brought role-playing games to Japan and turned a little-known game called Tetris into an international phenomenon after intense negotiations with the Soviet Union and Nintendo. His efforts helped establish the Game Boy as a market leader and made Tetris one of the most popular games of all time. Rogers’ story became folklore in the gaming industry and is the subject of the 2023 Apple TV+ film “Tetris.” Today, Rogers is the founder of 10 companies and non-profit organizations focused on renewable energy, space exploration, and ending the use of fossil fuels on Earth. A near-fatal heart attack in 2005 made Rogers identify his true missions in life and led to him founding the Blue Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization that has been instrumental in implementing renewable energy policies in Hawaii. Realizing this model needed to be exported to the rest of the world, Rogers 2021 founded the Blue Planet Alliance, an organization helping island communities disproportionately affected by climate change transition from being reliant on importing fossil fuels to using 100 percent renewable energy. Rogers is also the founder of Blue Planet Energy, a global leader in renewable energy storage systems, and the International Moonbase Alliance, an organization with the goal to build sustainable settlements on the Moon and Mars and establish Hawaii as a leader in the space industry. Today, Rogers continues to be an influential figure in both the gaming industry and the sustainable energy sector. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to both fields, including being inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2008 and named CEO of the Year by Hawaii Business Magazine in 2015. He currently lives between his off-grid ranch in Hawaii and New York City and continues to be an active entrepreneur pursuing his passion for making a positive impact on the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doug Drexler is a visual effects artist, designer, sculptor, illustrator, and a makeup artist who has collaborated with such talents as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, James Caan, Meryl Streep, and Warren Beatty. He began his career in the entertainment industry working for makeup artist Dick Smith on such films as The Hunger and Starman. He has also contributed to Three Men and a Little Lady, The Cotton Club, FX, Manhunter and Dick Tracy.Dick Tracy earned Drexler an Oscar, as well as The British Academy Award and the Saturn Award for his special makeup effects on characters such as Big Boy Caprice (played by Pacino) and Mumbles (played by Hoffman). Two Emmy nominations in the same field followed for three years working on Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he performed such tasks as aging Captain Picard for "The Inner Light". In 1992 Drexler moved over to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as designer, digital artist and effects artist. He continued in that capacity on the subsequent Star Trek films as well as Star Trek: Voyager. In April 2001 Drexler worked as senior Illustrator and CGI designer on the fifth Star Trek series, Enterprise. Following Enterprise, he was hired by Visual Effects Supervisor Gary Hutzel as CG Supervisor on Battlestar Galactica, "Caprica", "Blood and Chrome", and "Defiance". Doug won two Emmy Awards and a Visual Effects Society Award for Galactica.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jackie Kohnstamm grew up in North London, where she still lives. She studied an ancient Jewish community in France for her PhD, never guessing how the skills acquired then would later help her delve into her own family story. She has lectured in higher education and written short stories and plays for BBC radio and the stage. Jackie is nourished by lengthy meals with friends and by her garden on the wild side. If she hits a winning shot at tennis, that’s a bonus. The Memory Keeper is her first book. One night some time after her mother’s death, Jackie Googled her grandparents’ names on a whim. Where previous searches had come up blank, this time she had a surprise: only four days earlier, two Stolpersteine (‘stumble stones’) had been laid outside the house in Berlin where they had once lived. Someone – a stranger – had commissioned this memorial to her grandparents, each listing their name, year of birth, date of deportation to Theresienstadt and date of their murder by the Nazis. Here, then, was the first step, and what followed was a remarkable story of loss, discovery, community and memory. - A deeply personal account of one family’s experience of the Holocaust, showing the devastating impact of seemingly tiny decisions made during Hitler’s rise. - Contains family photographs, official documentation and – most poignantly – transcripts of letters sent between the family members in the 1930s and 1940s, as Jewish lives were increasingly restricted and Kohnstamm’s mother and her siblings tried to persuade their parents to flee. - A moving insight into the work being done by groups all over Germany to commemorate and remember those lost during the Holocaust – and a vital reminder of just how easily fascism can rise when apathy or hatred prevails.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.