Marcell Felipe the both founder of the Inspire America Foundation- an organization dedicated to promoting democracy in Cuba and the Americas- and the Chairman of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora in Miami, Florida which showcases and documents the history, culture, and contributions of the Cuban exile community. Join us as we get some insight into those organizations in addition to learning of individuals important to the cause of human rights and liberty, such as Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh, Jorge Mas Canosa, Dr. Óscar Elías Biscet and many others. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Racism- where it is and where it isn’t is what Checo Perryman comes Back By the Woodpile to discuss on this week episode! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Jim R. McClanahan of Journey To the West Research returns to the Woodpile to talk all about Sun Wukong! Including his many accessories, weapons, names, link to the Hindu god Hanuman, the classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh and his appearance in Gene Yang's American Born Chinese. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Dr. Jaime Suchlicki of the Cuban Study Institute comes Back By the Woodpile to talk Jose Marti, Eduardo Chibás, Jewish-Cuban History, the current state of Cubans on the island and more. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

More theological talk regarding mystery, certainty, progressive Christianity, culture, politics, Richard Rohr and God.  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!  

Degarmo, Key and The Altar Boys get championed on this 80’s (mostly) look-back episode. And John J Thompson of TrueTunes.com is the funky fresh feller to help us! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!  

Cigar Snob Magazine’s Nicolás A. Jiménez joins us to talk the history of cigars, Cuba, politics and a little about his own adventures both outside and within the publication. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

The Commonwealth Policy Center an organization which organizes around particular legislative issues such as abortion, religious liberty and fiscal responsibility. Executive Director Richard Nelson comes Back By the Woodpile to talk not only about the Center’s philosophy and accomplishments but also of his own “adventures” so to speak in having a giant a target on his back by many in disagreement with his work. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!  

Haitian history is what we're learning all about on this episode and the Haitian Heritage Museum's Eveline Pierre is our professor! Join us as we talk the Arawak, slave revolt, Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Frederick Douglass, Haitian-Americans and much more! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Bay of Pigs Veteran Bill Muir reflects on his life in Cuba before Castro, his work in the underground while the Communists ruled the country, the invasion itself and the years since. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Nicolas Guitierrez is a Cuban American lawyer who was directly involved in the drafting, passage and enforcement of the Cuban Liberty & Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, aka the Helms-Burton law. As President of the National Association of Sugar Mill Owners of Cuba, Mr. Guitierrez comes on the podcast to educate us on not only the history of Cuban sugar, but the theft and mismanagement of the industry on the part of the Castro dictatorship, in addition to other related issues. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!  

Radio personality Bill Lurwick comes Back by the Woodpile to talk Joe Walsh, Rich Mullins, Tim McGraw, Danny Gokey, U2 and more!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

The final installment of our exploration of the old Shanghai pop music from the 1930's and 40's. This time Laszlo Montgomery of the China History Podcast helps us know better the stories of Zhōu Xuán (周旋) Lǐ Xiānglán (李香兰/Yamaguchi Yoshiko/山口淑子) and Yáo Lì (姚莉) and how they intersected with Yao Min, Chén Gēxīn, Yán Huá, Frankie Laine, Robert Stack, Deforest Kelly, Wolfgang Fraenkel and the Palestinians.

Poet, writer, professor, art collector and critic Ricardo Pau-Llosa comes Back By the Woodpile to talk all these things and more!  (A young Ricardo with Rufino Tamayo)   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!  

We're back with China History Podcast's Laszlo Mongomery in early 20th Century Shanghai to talk about the singers Lí Lìlì (黎莉莉), Jiang Qing (when she was 藍萍), Bái Hóng (白虹), Bái Guāng (白光), Gōng Qiūxiá (龚秋霞) and Yīngyīn (莺音).    To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

  Laszlo Montgomery of the China History Podcast comes Back By the Woodpile to talk the music scene of 1930's and 40's Shanghai. Li Jinhui, The Bright Moon Song and Dance Troupe, Teddy Weatherford, Buck Clayton, Li Minghui are just some of the major players we feature who made that city above the sea swinging sound!   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

A brief history of Cuba including Spanish rule, the revolutionary work of Jose Marti, the dictatorships of Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Operation Peter Pan, author/historian Carlos Eire, Chinese-Cubans and Twitter censorship. Guest Alberto de la Cruz of Babalublog.com explains all!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Hip-Hop music during certain time periods has conveyed various messages and beliefs. Professor Kalonji McClellan gives us a run through as to where some of these ideological sources emanate, such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Dubois, The Nation of Islam, Moorish Temple, Nuwabians, Gods and Earth and more. In addition, musicologist Dirk Allman shares a personal story involving a red Moorish fez. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!      

An essay followed by a discussion regarding God, mystery, agnosticism, desert monks, heresy, race relations and a bunch of other stuff all set off by a quote by Friar Richard Rohr. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Journey to the West is an epic piece of Chinese literature of which researcher Jim McClanahan comes Back By The Woodpile to give us a thorough introduction! Help Jim by participating in his Journey to the West Survey! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Keith Harris comes Back By the Woodpile to talk car restoration, Southern Gospel, Satanists and school bus driving!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Evansville, Indiana is located on the bottom of Indiana and we're going to take a tour of the town via some of the personalities from back in the day!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Transforming and transmitting pain, grateful for the moments, lamenting the finite, aping other’s spiritual actions, forgiving the undeserving and the towel people are all discussion in this episode’s philosophical exchange! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! (artwork by Lost7)

Audio engineer Matt Hamilton comes Back by the Woodpile to talk about his work in the film industry, his adventures around the world, the philosophy of Viktor Frankl, experimental guitar work and getting schooled by Robert Fripp.     To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Simple Minds, Flock 14 and The Choir are what's on tap on this episode of 1980's music we're dusting off! And to help us do it is TrueTunes.com's John J Thompson! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!    

Reverend Marvin Hightower returns Back By the Woodpile to talk about his involvement with the Door of Hope crises pregnancy center, the time his mother tried to abort him, his views on the pro-choice/pro-life debate, American race relations and the joy and pain of fatherhood. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Forgotten jams from the like best ever decade! This time around Cat Taylor helps us discuss the careers of The Professionals, Q-Feel, Divinyls, EG Daily, Guadalcanal Diary and Diesel.     To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Martha Stevenson, a volunteer counselor at Door of Hope crisis pregnancy center, talks about helping those recovering from poor choices, sexual abuse, drug addiction, abortion and much more.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!  

Philisophical haggling of ideas! On this episode we talk the safety of loneliness, the last thoughts before execution, courage to protect others at one’s own risk, the rotten meat of nightmares, the arogance of youth, the energy of youth and much more.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

The exciting conclusion of the events that set off the American Revolutionary War, in addition to some insight into life around the Lexington Tourist Center and the uncanny of correlation between the infamous day and a recent immigrant to the United States.  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

The events of April 18th and 19th 1775 around the Boston, Massachusetts area set off events that would shake the world order and enshrine the concepts of liberty and democracy within the minds of nearly all peoples afterwards. June Baer of the Lexington Historical Society relays for us this epic story hurling seemingly ordinary soldiers, farmers, radicals and businessmen into extraordinary circumstances. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

A story of one woman's journey from Mao's Revolutionary China to rural Kentucky. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Cri Cri El Grillito Cantor was a Mexican musician who sang to millions of children, telling stories of mice, ducks, ants and many other creatures who had problems not unlike humans. Guest Grace Guerra comes Back by the Woodpile to recall the Little Singing Cricket and how it colored her adolescence in Southern Mexico.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Tanya Bowman of Plans 4U Youth Organization talks not only her time working for The Door of Hope crises pregnancy center but how they ended up helping her deal with a dark secret.     To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!  

Artists in Cuba are unable to express themselves freely without fear of reprisals from the Communist government. To help us learn their names and stories Babalublog.com’s Alberto de la Cruz tells us about such individuals as El Sexto, Tania Bruguera, Lia Villares, Luis Manuel Otero, Yanelys Nuñez and others. In addition we talk the New York Times propagating Cuban propaganda, the Cuban influence in Maduro’s Venezuela and the Democratic Socialists of America.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear Amplifying the Muted Voices of Cuba II, click here To hear Amplifying the Muted Voices of Cuba II, click here    

Derek Sorrells returns to conclude the story of his drumming career, including his stints with The Frantics and London Calling (with Jaime Rowe) and his meeting with a tall caped demon named Gene Simmons. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!  

Drummer Derek Sorrells drops By the Woodpile to talk about his time keeping the time for artists Johnny Q Public, Miss Angie, The Frantics, Homesick and others. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!   [Correction: We stated that Oran Thornton wrote "Jesus Freak" when in fact he played on "Jesus Freak". Lo siento.]  

Door of Hope is a pregnancy center which welcomed us in to talk about their services to both women and men finding themselves in the midst of parenthood. Director Mack Wells gives us the history of the facility, some stories of success and failure and discusses the polarizing issue of our times: abortion.

Vintage Christmas records and the history behind them are on the Corner Woodpile turntables today! Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, Buon Natale, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Silent Night and a few others are explained by our old friend Dirk Allman!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Jamaica Plain is a unique little neighbor of Boston where some major American Revolutionary action went down, national politicians were (and still are) knighted at a local bar, reformers were made and a craft brew named after a Son of Liberty was born. And to help us learn all about the place is Jamaica Plain Historical Society president Gretchen Grozier!  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Aaron A Train Smith returns to talk of his education in drumming, his stints with The 77s, Romeo Void and Rich Mullins and of his faith and philosophy.  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Legendary Drummer Aaron A Train Smith stops by the Woodpile to talk about the early days of his career involving The Temptations, The Undisputed Truth, Norman Whitfield, Chuck Jackson, Miroslav Vitous, Wah Wah Watson, The Jackson Five and others! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here!

Philosophical hashing outs Back by the Woodpile this episode, talking hating in others what we despise about ourselves, jump starting self awareness, clean moon observations, dancing with the divine via creative acts and noisy humanity.  (artwork by Henkkab)  

Domestic violence, domestic terrorism, coercion, intimidation, manipulation and everything in between is what we’re going to dive into Back by the Woodpile on this episode. We’ll do so with guest Checo Perryman, the director of Human Empowerment and Leadership Programs (HELP), an organization dedicated to the research, design and installation of safety management training programs for compassionate verbal and physical intervention techniques.

Black American history is on tap Back by the Woodpile this episode! Helping us is Kalonji McClellan who talks Hubert Harrison, Booker T Washington W.E.B. Dubois, Birth of a Nation, pseudo history and much more.  

Randy Scruggs was a seminal musician, producer and songwriter touching so many many lives and careers in his sixty-something years on this planet. His daughter, Lindsey Scruggs comes back by the Woodpile to share some of her better memories of her father, whom passed away earlier this year. To hear on Stitcher, click here To hear on iTunes, click here

Bill Monroe's got a new museum honoring his life and music and so we bring the Woodpile over to Rosine, Kentucky to have a look-see!   To hear on Stitcher, click here To hear on iTunes, click here

Reverend Marvin Hightower comes Back by the Woodpile to discuss some of the issues covered in his book “Overcoming Identity Crisis” including finding our true purposes, putting other people's agendas ahead of our destinies, the wild goose chase pride gets us off on, getting out when the getting is good and how Mr. Hightower’s mother tried to kill him twice. To hear on Stitcher, click here To hear on iTunes, click here

John J Thompson talks about what fed into the writing of his book "Jesus, Bread and Chocolate: Crafting a Homemade Faith in a Mass Market World"!     To hear on Stitcher, click here To hear on iTunes, click here