Fringe Voices

James Oehler

Giving a voice to outsiders, radicals and agitators from the Bronx and beyond! I like to interview interesting people with interesting ideas. At the same time I like to spotlight change makers in the local Bronx community and other areas to help their voices be heard by a wider audience. Support me on Patreon, please and thank you!

  1. 08/06/2020

    Fixing our Democracy with Lawrence Lessig

    Thanks again for your support and listening. Today, I’m very honored to speak with Lawrence Lessig. For those that don’t know this impressive human. Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, prior to which he founded the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, and taught at the University of Chicago. Founder of Equal Citizens and a founding board member of Creative Commons, Lessig serves on the Scientific Board of AXA Research Fund and has received numerous awards including a Webby, Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, Scientific American 50 and Fastcase 50 Awards. Cited by The New Yorker as “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era,” Lessig's current work addresses “institutional corruption”—relationships which, while legal, weaken public trust in an institution—especially as that affects democracy. His books include: They Don't Represent Us (November 2019), Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution (May 2019), America, Compromised (2018), Republic, Lost v2 (2015), Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It (2011) among many others. Lessig holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge University, and a JD from Yale. We get in a little bit of Lawrence's personal background, why he didn't become a corporate lobbyist. We discuss why we need to get fundraising type money out of politics. What public campaign financing looks like and how citizens could take part in this. We discuss civic juries, what they are and how they can be useful for our democracy. How everyday citizens can meaningfully impact our democracy right now. We also discuss electoral college reform and his non-profit that is working on this named Fix the College. And some media recommendations. Namely, the The Swamp on HBO and his podcast Another Way. Again, please rate, review and subscribe. Thanks again for your support! Note: the background music is by my good friend Taavi of https://bestproducer.substack.com/

    40 min
  2. Art, Spirituality and Parenting in the Modern Era with Niles Heckman

    07/22/2020

    Art, Spirituality and Parenting in the Modern Era with Niles Heckman

    Hey it’s James and welcome back to the Fringe Voices show. I wanted to give a shout out to 2 recent reviews on Apple Podcasts from chris3412 and gardener2591. Thanks! Again, if you’re enjoying the content of this show please subscribe, rate and review on wherever you listen to podcasts. I would definitely appreciate it! Today I welcome a very special guest Niles Heckman. Niles is a documentary photographer & filmmaker, essayist, and speaker who's work focuses around themes of ageless wisdom for our modern times. Sharing insights in his films, spoken-word essays, podcast An Infinite Path also his productions with the films Transmutations and Shamans of the Global Village. He has also worked on multiple Academy Award-winning teams in Hollywood with New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and Marvel Studios. Some things we discuss: What draws you to do the work you do? You have worked in Hollywood and sometimes Hollywood can be a bit generic but your work is very unique.What was your life like growing up, what’s a bit of your background?How did your early years influence your later life?Take aways from his popular film Shamans of the Global VillageWhat’s your spiritual journey been like and what spiritualities are you drawn to and why?How Niles approaches being a parent in this modern eraNiles recommends some great media:The Master Key System (book)As a Man Thinketh (book)The Kybalion (book)The Habit Poem (Anonymous poem)Ron Fricke DocumentariesDavid Attenborough (documentarian)Finding Vivian Maier (documentary)Hearts of Darkness (documentary)Blood Road (documentary)Jiro Dreams of Sushi (documentary)Exit Through the Gift Shop (documentary)Living Myth podcastPsychedelic Salon podcastThe Higherside Chats podcast

    51 min
  3. Rachel Balkovec - First Female Hitting Coach in MLB

    03/23/2020

    Rachel Balkovec - First Female Hitting Coach in MLB

    Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe and support through Patreon if you enjoy this show! Today, I spoke with Rachel Balkovec, she is the first female full time hitting coach in MLB. Rachel is extremely hard working, she has 2 Master's degrees in Human Movement Science and has played multiple sports herself. She is an amazing person and she shares her challenges to becoming the first female hitting coach in the MLB with the New York Yankees. Her stint in the Latin American league and learning Spanish to prepare for this experience. This was a long, winding journey for Rachel and it wasn't easy and there was a lot of grit, resilience and perseverance on her part. She spoke about being a waitress, working at a retail store and having an unpaid internship before being hired by the Yankees. We also talk about the possibility of the first female baseball player, her favorite podcasts and books and her additional work helping females in their own careers through her Virtual Handshake Academy.  Links to visit Rachel's personal  website and Virtual Handshake Academy website that helps other females in their careers. Rachel's Twitter Rachel's podcast The Theta Wave Podcast Rachel's favorite podcasts: MindStrong Project, Finding Mastery, Laughter Permitted and The Gabby Reece Show--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

    49 min
  4. The Bernie Sanders campaign, FDR and Thomas Paine with Professor Harvey Kaye

    03/14/2020

    The Bernie Sanders campaign, FDR and Thomas Paine with Professor Harvey Kaye

    Fringe Voices is show that interviews interesting people with interesting ideas. If you like the podcast and would like to support it, I have started a Patreon account. Thanks in advance for your support!  Today, we welcome Professor Harvey Kaye. Professor Kaye is a professor of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and author of several books, more recently Take Hold of Our History: Make America Radical Again, The Fight for the Four Freedoms, Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Professor Kaye also has an upcoming book, that is available for pre-order, entitled: FDR on Democracy: The Greatest Speeches and Writings of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also can be found on Twitter @HarveyJKaye.  We discussed Professor Kayes early life and inspiration along with his early introduction to Thomas Paine that has stuck with him ever since. Professor Kaye explained the importance of Thomas Paine to us, as American citizens, and why we should care about Thomas Paine. We then take a deep dive into the importance of FDR during his time and what we should take away from his Presidency for today. How Bernie's policies align with FDR and what we can learn from the FDR presidency. Professor Kaye also has some helpful suggestions for the Bernie Sanders camp on how he can realign his message with FDR. Towards the end we discussed some other radical figures in US history that are of importance as well. I hope you learn something that you can use in your own life. Thanks for listening! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

    37 min
4.6
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Giving a voice to outsiders, radicals and agitators from the Bronx and beyond! I like to interview interesting people with interesting ideas. At the same time I like to spotlight change makers in the local Bronx community and other areas to help their voices be heard by a wider audience. Support me on Patreon, please and thank you!