Midweek Politics

Infobox Radio Show
show_name = Midweek Politics with David Pakman


imagesize =
caption =
format = Politics, News, Satire, Talk
runtime = 1 hour
creator = David Pakman
executive_producer = David Pakman
Louis Motamedi
starring = David Pakman
country = flagicon|United States United States
first_aired = August, 2005
last_aired = Present
website = http://www.midweekpolitics.com
home_station = WXOJ-LP / Pacifica Radio
podcast = [http://www.heartheissues.com/midweekpolitics/midweekpolitics.xml Midweek Politics with David Pakman]

"Midweek Politics with David Pakman" is a nationally syndicated talk radio program featuring David Pakman as host. The program first aired in August 2005 on WXOJ-LP ("Valley Free Radio"), located in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has since been syndicated on the Pacifica Radio network, airing on multiple Pacifica radio stations.cite news |url=http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/8999330294246932478 |work=The Daily News Tribune |title=Unexpected Success |date=2006-12-26 |first=Matt |last=Perkins] The program is broadcast/produced every Wednesday, hence the name "Midweek Politics," focusing on the politics and news of the week, with regular interviews of both liberal, conservative, and non-political guests, although the show does not air on Wednesdays on all of its affiliate stations.

Although Ben Ferguson is listedwhere|date=June 2008 as the youngest nationally syndicated radio personality in the country, this has now been called into questionwhere|date=June 2008 due to Pakman's recent syndicated on Pacifica. Because Pacifica is non-profit radio, affiliates do not pay for syndication rights, there is some controversy over this claim, although at its core, Midweek Politics is a nationally-syndicated radio program.

Format

"Midweek Politics" is made up of both live and recorded interviews, listener call-ins, clips from television and radio programs related to politics and current events, and specially produced segments, including "man on the street" interviews, recorded phone calls to political organizations or officials, and more.

2006 election and Deval Patrick

During the leadup to the 2006 mid-term election, Pakman had more than one run-in with Massachusetts Governor-election Deval Patrick on the issue of polling. During an August 23, 2006 interview, Patrick was reluctant to admit that the Democratic candidate who would go on to win the primary in September was in a strong position to win in the general election in November, although the polls were overwhelmingly pointing in that direction.

This issue was brought up again in person by Pakman at an October 3, 2006 debate at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. At this point, Patrick had already won the Democratic primary and was, according to some polls,Who|date=July 2007 more than 30 points ahead of the second place Republican Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. When asked if he would finally admit to having some comfort in his lead, Patrick explained that "he doesn't always trust the polls." When asked by Pakman whether or not Healey should be worried that she is more than 30 points down, Patrick shrugged the question off by asking "is it now that much?" and moving on to another reporter's question.

Howard Stern

David Pakman has come under fire from both traditional liberals as well as religious conservatives for his support of free speech specifically as applied to Howard Stern and censorship. On September 27, 2006, Pakman specifically defended Stern, the Sirius Satellite Radio business, the success of Stern's show to date, and stated that he believes the type of ideology stated by Rush Limbaugh and other talk radio hosts is equally or more offensive than the type of content censored when Stern's show was on terrestrial radio.

In an article published in the "Daily Hampshire Gazette"] on December 13, 2006, the statement that Pakman claimed Howard Stern as a "hero" was made, although disputed by Pakman. In a correction/letter to the editor published on December 21, 2006, Pakman clarified that while he is a Sirius Satellite Radio subscriber and a fan of Howard Stern's, the statement that Stern was a hero was never made nor implied.

Westboro Baptist Church

In a segment spanning two shows, on October 4, 2006 and October 11, 2006, Jonathan Phelps of the Westboro Baptists Church (known for their "God Hates Fags" slogan) was interviewed by David Pakman in what turned out to be a controversial segment. Pakman was accused of not being sufficiently openly critical and confrontational with Phelps, who as once brought up on a variety of criminal charges stemming from information gathered following a raid of Westboro.

In follow up interviews and programs, Pakman defended the interview by saying that if both goes without saying that he did not agree with Phelps, and has condemned the church on the program in the past. In addition, he said that because interviews with members of Westboro often turn into unproductive shouting matches, staying calm and letting Phelps speak would "allow listeners to hear the heinous nature of the church and their views."

During the same interview, Phelps resorted to ad hominem attacks, claiming that Pakman and his producer were, among other things, pinheads. In addition, Phelps threatened to "end this pretense of an interview" when the idea that Phelps' church's views were based on one interpretation of the Bible, as opposed to the only interpretation. Phelps did, however, stay on to complete the interview.

Country Thunder

Criticism was received from listeners in response to the July 25 broadcast of Midweek Politics, during which Pakman discussed his visit to Country Thunder, a country music festival in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Criticism from those defending the country music industry was primarily focused around alleging that Pakman's descriptions of the event and attendees as heavily neoconservative, pro-war, and in great part racist were unfair characterizations and descriptions out of context.

In addition, Pakman's comments about specific country artists, including Montgomery Gentry and Trace Adkins, were considered equally out of context.

Guest hosting

Pakman has served as the guest host on several other radio programs.

* October 27, 2007 - [http://www.liberaloasis.com The Liberal Oasis Radio Show] - Airs Saturdays 10:00am-10:30am on WHMP
* October 29, 2007 - [http://www.whmp.com/page.php?category_id=193&jock_id=291 The Bill Dwight Show] - Airs every weekday 9:00am-10:00am on WHMP

Guests

Guests on the program have included elected public officials, political candidates, members of the military, film producers, and members of university political clubs, among others. Interviews are both live and pre-recorded. The following are some of the guests who have been on the program:

*Aaron Klein, Author of "Schmoozing with Terrorists" and Jerusalem bureau chief for [http://www.worldnetdaily.com WorldNetDaily.com]
*Alex Rosten, [http://www.edmunds.com Edmunds.com]
*Allan Kahane, Author and expert on alternative energy
*Amanda Terkel, Research Associate - Center for American Progress
*Arthur Brooks, Professor at Syracuse University, author of "The Fertility Gap"
*Bill Scher, Author of "Wait! Don't Move to Canada!" and Founder of [http://www.liberaloasis.com LiberalOasis.com]
*Chris Gabrieli, Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 2006
*Christy Mihos, Independent candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 2006
*Clare Higgins, Mayor of Northampton, MA, 2000-Present
*Deb Kozikowski, Vice-Chair of Massachusetts Democratic State Committee and a superdelegate
*Dennis Kucinich, Democratic US Congressman from Ohio, Presidential Candidate
*Deval Patrick, Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 2006
*Ed O'Reilly, Democratic candidate for US Senator from Massachusetts, 2008
*Frances Moore Lappé, social change and democracy activist, author of 16 books including Diet for a Small Planet.
*Gene Healy, Senior Editor - Cato Institute
*Greg Palast, Bestselling author and journalist.
*Isaac Mass, Republican political veteran
*Jesse Adams and Shawn Robinson from Young Democrats of America
*John Andrulis, Professor Emeritus of economics at Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts
*John Kerry, Demcoratic US Senator from Massachusetts
*Jonathan Cohn, author of the book SICK: The Untold Story of America’s Health Care Crisis - And the People Who Pay the Price, and a senior editor at the New Republic and senior fellow at the think-tank Demos
*Jonathan Phelps - Westboro Baptist Church
*Josh Silver, Executive Director and Co-Founder of [http://www.freepress.net FreePress]
*Kenny Gamble - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and song producer/writer
*Karlyn Bowman, Resident Fellow - American Enterprise Institute
*Kathleen Willey, Former White House Aide who claimed Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her.
*Lawrence Alexander aka D.W. Buffa, author of the political thrilled Rubicon
*Marcelo Da Luz, [http://www.xof1.com The Power of One Solar Car Project]
*Mike Hannahan, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts
*Medea Benjamin, Founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange
*Michael Shea, Producer and Director of [http://www.redstatethemovie.com Red State]
*Nathan Bech, Republican candidate for US Senator from Massachussets, 2008
*Payson Schwin, Research Associate - Center for American Progress
*Perez Hilton, Gossip Journalist, [http://www.perezhilton.com PerezHilton.com]
*Peter F. Paul, the Hollywood entrepreneur, co-founder of Stan Lee Media, and convicted felon who is the subject of the movie Hillary Uncensored
*Radley Balko, Policy Analyst - Cato Institute
*Ralph Nader, Presidential Candidate & Political Activist
*Ray Hennessey, Editor - [http://www.smartmoney.com SmartMoney.com]
*Scott Keeter, Directory of Survey Research - Pew Research Center
*Steve Baldwin, co-author of From Crayons to Condoms
*Walid Shoebat, reformed Palestinian terrorist, [http://www.shoebat.com Walid Shoebat Foundation]

Affiliates

This list is of current affiliates, many of which are Pacifica Radio stations.
* [http://www.freethoughtradio.com FreeThoughtRadio] - Internet Pacifica affiliate
* [http://www.khel973.com KHEL] - KHEL The Flame in Rogers, Arkansas on 97.3 FM
* [http://www.radiofreemoscow.com KRFP] - Radio Free Moscow in Moscow, Idaho on 92.5 FM
*KWMD - Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska on 90.7 FM; repeated in Anchorage, Alaska, K283AZ, on 104.5 FM and 87.74 FM
* [http://www.progressiveblendradio.com Progressive Blend Radio] - Internet Pacifica affiliate
* [http://www.spoxtalk.com/listen_to_spox_talk SPOXtalk] - Internet radio station
* [http://www.wetx.org WETX] - WETX in Tri-Cities, Tennessee on 105.3 FM
* [http://www.radiofreenashville.org WRFN Radio Free Nashville] - Radio Free Nashvile in Nashville, Tennessee on 98.9 FM.
*WHEI - WHEI in Tiffin, Ohio on 88.9 FM
* [http://www.womr.org/index.html WOMR] - WOMR in Provincetown, Massachusetts on 92.1 FM
* [http://www.athensstuff.com/hot100 WPPP] - "HOT 100 FM," on 100.7 FM in Athens, Georgia
* [http://www.wslr.org/ WSLR] - WSLR in Sarasota, Florida on 96.5 FM
* [http://external.oneonta.edu/WUOW/ WUOW] - WUOW Oneonta, on 104.7 FM in Oneonta, New York
* [http://www.valleyfreeradio.org WXOJ] - Valley Free Radio in Northampton, Massachusetts, on 103.3 FM

As of August 2007, Midweek Politics began airing live on Pacifica Affiliate KWMD, in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska on 90.7 FM; repeated in Anchorage, Alaska, K283AZ, on 104.5 FM and 87.74 FM. It airs at 3pm Alaska Daylight Time AKDT.

Credits

The show is hosted by David Pakman and produced by David Pakman and Louis Motamedi at Valley Free Radio WXOJ in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Press

* [http://www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/storytmp.cfm?id_no=17393 Midweek Politics Airs Nationally - Daily Hampshire Gazette / November 14, 2006]
* [http://www.umass.edu/sbs/alumni/profiles/pakman.htm University of Massachusetts / November 16, 2006]
* [http://www.dailyhampshiregazette.com/storytmp.cfm?id_no=21017 Pakman's Politics - Daily Hampshire Gazette / December 13, 2006]
* [http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/8999330294246932478 Unexpected Success - Daily News Tribune / December 26, 2006]

References

External links

* [http://www.midweekpolitics.com "Midweek Politics" Homepage]
* [http://www.pacifica.org Pacifica Radio]
* [http://www.valleyfreeradio.org Valley Free Radio]
* [http://www.libertylounge.net/forums/midweek-politics-radio/ Official Midweek Politics Radio Forum]