SELF-PROMOTION: The November issue of Reason is wending its way to subscribers as I type. It includes two articles by yours truly -- three, if you count a short squib I did on WorldNetDaily's efforts to enter the congressional press galley. One is called "Roll Over, James Madison." It's about the ways many conservative pundits have forgotten their federalist principles since 9/11. The other is called "The Secret History of Television." It's a review of two recent books on Philo T. Farnsworth, the forgotten inventor of TV -- or, more exactly, it's a response to Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker piece on the books.

While I'm at it: If you live in the Tucson area, you should be able to hear me this afternoon on John Dayl's radio show on KXAM, from 3 until 3:30. I know virtually nothing about Dayl, except that he wants to talk about a short piece I wrote a while back on the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia. I suspect that the conversation will soon turn to the looming war with Iraq.

And speaking of radio: This summer, a fellow from Houston's KPFT, the most free-spirited of the Pacifica stations, interviewed me about radio history and asked if he could use pieces of my comments in a program the station was putting together. Sure, I said; do what you want. The result can be heard online, and I have to say it's a pretty fun audio mix. Towards the end it starts to feel a bit like an infomercial for Pacifica, but hey, even lefty noncommercial media outlets have a product to sell.

posted by Jesse 12:50 PM

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