We The 66 RocaNews

Pastor Carl Day, known as the "Pastor of the Hood" was once the type of youth he's now trying to help. He grew up in a rough north Philly neighborhood without a dad and quickly fell into a life of crime. He had a kid at 18 and was charged with attempted murder and armed robbery a few years later. He spent the next three years in prison or on house arrest. It turns out those years were the best thing that ever happened to him. His conversion to Christianity -- already in the works before getting locked up -- flourished in prison and on house arrest. Today he runs a ministry called Culture Changing Christians. His goals are to help put at-risk youth on a path to a better life -- away from drugs, crime, and the streets. He took us through Kensington, the worst neighborhood in Philly, after the interview. Stay tuned for that, too!

In 2021, Winston Marshall was the lead guitarist of Mumford & Sons, one of the most successful rock bands of the 21st century. He co-founded the band in 2007 and was instrumental (no pun intended) to its extraordinary success. Then, after Tweeting a positive review of conservative journalist Andy Ngo's new book on the radical left's violence in 2020, a mob came after him. They bombarded him, his family, and bandmates with threats. He eventually apologized but later reneged on the apology and left the band. In the years since, he has become an outspoken defender of free speech and the importance of open discourse. He has since founded the Dissident Dialogues, which will be hosting its inaugural event in Brooklyn this weekend. In this interview, the RocaNews co-founders Max Frost and Max Towey ask him about his experience of getting canceled, his relationship with the band today, his time debating Nancy Pelosi, and what he's doing in this next chapter of his life.

Dr. David Hasan, a professor of neurosurgery at Duke University, was among the first cohort of doctors to enter Gaza in the wake of October 7th. It was late December 2023, and he had no clue what to expect. Although his visit was emotionally shattering, he later returned to Gaza in March and plans to do so again in June. Hasan discusses the morale of the Palestinian people, state of the Gazan hospitals, humanitarian efforts in the works, and so much more. We asked him if he's seen the Hamas tunnels, how his re-adjustment to life in America has been, what people in Gaza do all day, and so much more. If you enjoy the episode please like and subscribe. Also, we apologize for the poor audio quality! Hope the subtitles (done by scratch, so pardon the typos) help! 🌊

Today we bring you an interview with John Spencer, an expert in urban warfare who serves as the chair of urban warfare studies at the Military Institute at West Point and has visited Gaza twice since October 7th. John Spencer is a US military veteran himself. He served for 25 years in the Army including two combat deployments to Iraq as both an infantry platoon leader and company commander. We first came across John from his op-eds in the Wall Street Journal about the war in Gaza. John brings a unique perspective to the Israel-Hamas War. As a military expert, he’s seen Gaza in the company of the IDF, so we will follow this episode with a Thursday one on a doctor who's seen Gaza through the eyes of the Palestinians.

Steven Pinker is the guest on the latest episode of We The 66. He defended his thesis in "Enlightenment Now" and shared how progress isn't linear, which might explain the backsliding in various areas over the last decade. He also discussed wokeness, free speech, and how Harvard his changed. He continues to defend the Enlightenment and argues that our elite institutions have ushered in a culture of self-censorship. He also shared more about his friendship with Bill Gates and his visit to the World Economic Forum, among other things. 

A member of the Roca community, Michael Colgan, sent us a rather surprising message: He said he died for 7 minutes when he was a college student. At first, we didn't know if this was a joke, but we were curious. We reached out to him and brought him into the studio for an interview. He tell us his story, which was both terrifying and inspiring. It all happened during his senior year at Ohio State. Huge thanks to Michael for sharing his story. We end up the episode, by the way, with some fun trivia. Make sure to subscribe and thank you all for your support.