Christopher Gabriel

Barry Weiss: Road Trip to Fargo (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:12:22 +0000

The only thing better than having Barry Weiss, the breakout star from A&E’s Storage Wars, live on the phone is having him live in studio for The Christopher Gabriel Program.

Dinner with Barry on Sunday night, two hours on the program Monday, lunch that afternoon… toss in Tim Beers, Jr. and Tim Urian, producers from Original Productions and Storage Wars, filming the entire two hours in studio and you have one insane, rollicking, great couple of days in Fargo, North Dakota.

I wrote about Barry on the CGP’s program blog in The Forum on how it came to pass that he came to Fargo. And then there’s the audio from the program itself. He joined me on our daily Top 5 @ Noon segment and then we finished the remaining hour and 40 minutes talking everything from the origin of the series to shopping at roadside truck stops to the upcoming Giants-Patriots Super Bowl.

Top 5 @ Noon
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

photo credits: Jill St. John, executive producer, The Christopher Gabriel Program

Andrew Young on Martin Luther King, Jr. (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:37:44 +0000

Andrew Young was there. In Birmingham, in Selma, in Memphis… he was there. He watched history in the making. Thinking about him over the years, that’s what I’d say when his name would come up in discussion. Shortly before Mr. Young came on my program I told a WDAY colleague, “Andrew Young is a connection to history.” It wasn’t until that moment I realized how wildly incorrect I had been for so many years.

Andrew Young wasn’t a connection to history. He was, and remains, a part of our history.

And as you’ll learn very quickly, speaking to Mr. Young becomes a vivid reminder of our history. A lesson, as it were. I cannot think of a better person in our nation to have been blessed to speak with on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day than Andrew Young.

Part 1
Part 2

photo credit: gademocrats

Gingerbread People: The Controversy (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:46:58 +0000

One of the most intense controversies sweeping America: Gingerbread People. I’ve been overwhelmed with emails and phone calls asking if I would do a little digging to better understand what’s at the bottom of gingerbread people. Specifically, the gingerbread men – they appear to be naked. The women, however – clothed. That’s the crux of the issue: Why are gingerbread men naked?

Or are they naked?

I needed to call in an expert and there is no one better than my pal, Twin Cities Angie. As I’ve come to learn over the years, when the subject is gingerbread people (or banana bread), it’s Angie Time on the CGP.

photo credit: Andrew Smithson

Lessons in Ethics from The Bolles School (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:40:41 +0000

One of the things I’ve spoken about on my program many times is the seeming lack of athletic stories involving character, dignity and class. Sadly, it’s something in step with our country both socially and culturally. But it manifests itself most prominently in athletics. Drugs, fights in bars, cheating by coaches and athletes alike… the list of black marks on sports grows exponentially by the particular season we’re in. How young do we have to go to find athletes and / or coaches doing the right thing for the right reasons?

Enter, The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Just when you start to wonder about where we’re going as a society, along comes a group of talented young athletes and their coach who remind everyone that, indeed, there are individuals out there who still place a high value on ethics, putting others before themselves and allowing a moment in time to be defined by honor.

What this group of young ladies The Bolles School did, all of them outstanding cross-country runners, at the Florida state championship race in November is a lesson for anyone who participates in sports.

Perhaps what they did is more aptly framed as a lesson for anyone who participates in life.

photo credit: The Bolles School

Clint Hill: Before, During and After November 22, 1963 (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:09:36 +0000

Clint Hill is a native of Larimore, ND, born in 1932. 17 days after his birth he was dropped off at the North Dakota Children’s Home. Growing up in Washburn, ND, he later attended and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Shortly thereafter he enlisted in the Army and was selected for Army Intelligence School. After graduating, Mr. Hill was made a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. In 1958 the Denver Secret Service office had an opening and Mr. Hill was encouraged to apply. To no one’s surprise, he got in with ease and less than a year later he was viewed as an ideal candidate for the White House Detail under President Eisenhower. It would not be an overstatement to suggest the events of his life that followed were quite remarkable.

After reading the searing and compelling book The Kennedy Detail, I was given the opportunity to have an extended interview with the gracious and dignified Mr. Hill on my radio program. When considering Mr. Hill’s place in American history, this was a thrilling moment for me both personally and professionally. And indeed, it was a wonderful listen for our entire audience.

Clint Hill, Part 1
Clint Hill, Part 2

photo credit: The Kennedy Detail Online Blog
photo credit (features page): Daily Mail

Bob Woodward: Watergate, Belushi, Obama and More (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:35:57 +0000

About the time I entered high school in suburban Philadelphia, a young reporter for The Washington Post named Bob Woodward, working with Carl Bernstein, began reporting on the Watergate scandal. They turned the political and journalism world upside down with what turned out to be perhaps the greatest journalistic effort in history. Catching up with Bob we spoke on a variety of issues including Watergate, the many presidents he’s written about, the economy, John Belushi and the sudden fall of Joe Paterno.

photo credit (features page): CSIS: Center for Strategic & International Studies

Jeffrey Sachs: The Price of Civilization (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Jeffrey Sachs is widely considered to be the leading economist in the world. Twice he’s been Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and was named to the TIME Magazine 100 list of most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2005. A New York Times bestselling author, we had a chance to catch up with Jeffrey to discuss a wide variety of issues including his newest book, The Price of Civilization.

One month later on December 19, Jeffrey returned to the program. This time around, we once again discussed a broad range of issues including the death of Kim Jong Il and how it would affect the United States, Mitt Romney’s budget plan, the state of education in our nation including escalating college tuition, and much more.

photo credit (features page): European Parliament

John Nichols (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:29:18 +0000

John Nichols is one of the most respected voices in Washington when the subject is politics and the media. And in Washington, when isn’t there discussion on politics and the media? Mr. Nichols is the associate editor of The Capital Times (Madison, WI) and is the author of seven books on politics and the media. He writes about electoral politics and public policy for The Nation magazine, and is a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times. You’ll find his articles appearing regularly in the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times.

On his way to Fargo as the featured speaker for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Summit, I had the opportunity to catch up with Nichols and discuss a wide range of topics spanning human rights, the upcoming presidential election and the evolving role, for better or for worse, of the media in our culture.

photo credit: The Nation

Roxana Saberi (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:13:43 +0000

It’s always a treat when author /journalist, and Fargoan, Roxana Saberi is in town. I had the opportunity to have a lengthy chat with her on the released American hikers, Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a lot more. We even managed to squeeze in a little bit about Northwestern football!

photo credit: roxanasaberi.com

Was that Robert De Niro on the CGP? (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:10:26 +0000

Harold Camping’s latest end of the world prediction was for Friday, October 21, 2011. He qualified it with the word “probably” but I’m certain he was convinced Friday was the day. Most people didn’t believe him – staff members of the CG Program included. However, we still decided to run a series of mathematical equations, make a few phone calls (we’re not at liberty to release the names of those we spoke to) and ultimately determined an actual time of 11:17 am Central would be The Moment.

When that moment passed, a brief period of on-air jubilation followed; it’s always nice to confirm Fargo is still open for business. Still, we were concerned about other parts of our great nation as well as other areas on the globe. And so we checked in with Grammy nominated drummer Slammin’ Sammy K in Los Angeles. All was ok in the Drum Palace though we had some concern when Sammy said “I did notice a car stop for a pedestrian.”

We then went to Kitale, Kenya to visit with Lindsay Erhardt. All was in order there, save for the fact she told us they were huddled under the covers eating chocolate. We chose not to pursue that angle beyond asking what kind of chocolate was in play.

Finally, although his call was expected earlier, we were contacted near the end of our first hour by legendary actor Robert De Niro. It certainly was a great thrill… assuming it was Robert De Niro.

photo credit: imdb.com