[00:00.890 --> 00:03.110]  I've got questions a lot about my computer.
[00:03.730 --> 00:05.450]  Any of you got questions about your computer?
[00:05.970 --> 00:08.930]  Not my, um, coffee over in my keyboard.
[00:09.210 --> 00:10.130]  Do you think that's a problem?
[00:11.030 --> 00:12.190]  No, not for me.
[00:12.790 --> 00:13.210]  Hmm.
[00:13.590 --> 00:15.270]  What does it mean we're working right, do you mean?
[00:15.630 --> 00:18.710]  Uh, I'd buy a new one, you know what I mean?
[00:18.990 --> 00:19.290]  Okay.
[00:19.630 --> 00:21.030]  Like, really, I've got to be there.
[00:21.210 --> 00:22.030]  It's like the best.
[00:22.050 --> 00:23.610]  It's the personal computer show.
[00:51.880 --> 00:52.620]  Check one, two.
[00:52.700 --> 00:53.240]  Can anyone hear me?
[00:53.340 --> 00:56.540]  Okay, this, uh, this microphone is not working with you?
[00:56.840 --> 00:58.400]  Move that microphone over there, please.
[00:59.600 --> 01:00.840]  Yeah, this one's better.
[01:01.120 --> 01:02.320]  All right, I'm sorry about that, folks.
[01:02.420 --> 01:06.880]  Apparently the main wire has been, the main microphone has been, uh, disconnected.
[01:07.320 --> 01:08.820]  I guess that's sort of symbolic, isn't it?
[01:09.400 --> 01:10.600]  Uh, look at this thing.
[01:10.680 --> 01:11.700]  It's drooping down to the floor.
[01:12.480 --> 01:17.380]  Okay, uh, you know, it's, um, it's, uh, 701.
[01:18.340 --> 01:19.340]  What mic is this?
[01:19.420 --> 01:20.340]  It's, uh, this one over here.
[01:20.420 --> 01:30.640]  Okay, uh, and you're listening to radio station WBAI, and in case you don't know it, this is off the hook.
[01:32.120 --> 01:33.460]  As soon as I get this to work.
[01:33.600 --> 01:33.960]  There we go.
[03:21.660 --> 03:22.880]  All right, I think we have it working.
[03:22.980 --> 03:26.940]  Yeah, some, uh, bonehead, uh, put the microphone in the wrong position, but we have the right one working now.
[03:26.940 --> 03:29.440]  Uh, it's off the hook.
[03:29.520 --> 03:32.320]  Emmanuel Goldstein here with you, joined tonight by Rob T.
[03:32.660 --> 03:33.020]  Firefly.
[03:33.180 --> 03:33.820]  Good evening.
[03:34.040 --> 03:35.600]  Down in Philadelphia, Bernie S.
[03:38.570 --> 03:38.910]  Hacking.
[03:39.590 --> 03:41.290]  Uh, yes, Bernie, that's what we're going to be doing tonight.
[03:41.470 --> 03:42.730]  Uh, it's good to hear your voice.
[03:43.290 --> 03:45.010]  Uh, can you hear us?
[03:45.110 --> 03:45.970]  It's been a while we've been doing
[03:49.420 --> 03:49.830]  it, unfortunately.
[03:50.260 --> 03:57.420]  Well, you know, uh, it's, it's interesting because, um, we're told that there is no phone connection, and yet we have a phone connection.
[03:57.560 --> 03:58.560]  How did we do that?
[03:58.660 --> 03:59.380]  Well, you know what?
[03:59.380 --> 04:00.060]  We're hackers.
[04:00.260 --> 04:00.880]  We're phone freaks.
[04:00.980 --> 04:01.800]  We're people like that.
[04:02.220 --> 04:04.260]  Uh, that have some ingenuity.
[04:04.380 --> 04:08.020]  And I got to tell you, folks, I got to tell you, this is our first show in a month.
[04:08.420 --> 04:09.020]  All right?
[04:09.180 --> 04:22.300]  It is, it has been so incredibly frustrating because we had so much, so much material, so much information, so much, um, in the way of hacker ingenuity to get us talking to you, the listeners.
[04:22.300 --> 04:24.150]  And we have been locked out.
[04:24.360 --> 04:26.040]  We have been prevented from doing that.
[04:26.420 --> 04:33.210]  Uh, and I, I, I do want to say that people here have, have been tremendous as far as getting the station working.
[04:33.560 --> 04:39.000]  Uh, there are people here who risked their lives staying here in the, in, when, when Sandy hit us.
[04:39.140 --> 04:44.830]  Uh, the river rose up to, um, I believe the second floor of the facility here.
[04:44.830 --> 04:51.980]  Uh, it was simply incredible what we have witnessed in this city and, uh, throughout the island.
[04:52.150 --> 05:04.060]  It's, it's, it's unprecedented, but what happened afterwards really was, um, to put it mildly and to use words that I'm supposed to use on the radio, a disappointment.
[05:04.880 --> 05:07.480]  Uh, because, uh, we were able to keep the station going.
[05:07.760 --> 05:20.800]  Uh, we, we went down for a little bit of time, but we were able to, uh, to, uh, surface again, despite many, many, uh, hurdles that we had to get over, we were able to come back and get the station on the air.
[05:21.090 --> 05:27.140]  So, uh, on, uh, Wednesday, the 31st of October, which was Halloween, uh, what a memorable Halloween that was.
[05:27.590 --> 05:28.640]  Um, you have something to say, Rob?
[05:28.640 --> 05:36.440]  Yeah, I just, uh, I just thought I'd mention for the benefit of those who might not know that this station is located on the last corner on Wall Street, like right up against the river.
[05:36.480 --> 05:36.680]  Yes.
[05:36.820 --> 05:39.560]  So it was particularly affected by everything that was going on.
[05:39.700 --> 05:43.640]  Like, um, we, we literally, we can look out the window and see the river, so.
[05:44.180 --> 05:51.120]  And, uh, we could see the river at the window, uh, on, uh, the 29th when, when, when the storm hit us.
[05:51.420 --> 05:58.620]  Uh, so yeah, you know, it was, um, uh, it was monumental on, on so many levels in so many locations.
[05:59.340 --> 06:01.640]  And this was something that was unprecedented.
[06:01.660 --> 06:05.020]  The river came up to the building, uh, to the second floor of the building.
[06:05.120 --> 06:05.760]  We're on the 10th floor.
[06:06.100 --> 06:16.900]  Uh, but I've heard reports that, uh, water was coming down the staircase, uh, because I don't know how that happened, but, uh, the building was, was kind of messed up as a result, has been, still is, uh, all of Wall Street, unrecognizable.
[06:16.900 --> 06:22.600]  There are, are boilers and generators all over the place, uh, very, very strange, surreal scene.
[06:23.080 --> 06:30.040]  But, we were able to secure an uptown studio, uh, to broadcast from, uh, a place that had power.
[06:30.160 --> 06:33.000]  Remember, all of downtown had no power, south of 14th Street.
[06:33.120 --> 06:34.800]  It was, it was unprecedented.
[06:35.620 --> 06:41.840]  I was able to get into the city from Long Island, which was also devastated by the storm, on the 31st.
[06:42.080 --> 06:44.700]  And, uh, let me tell you, that was no easy feat to get here.
[06:45.300 --> 06:54.140]  Uh, and I didn't even find out until, um, until I was midway through that, in fact, uh, through you, Rob, that, uh, the studio wasn't in operation here, that we had to go someplace else.
[06:54.340 --> 06:56.160]  I found out where that studio was.
[06:56.320 --> 06:57.220]  I went to that studio.
[06:57.320 --> 06:58.800]  It wasn't easy to find out where the studio was.
[06:58.800 --> 07:00.360]  It's like that information was secret or something.
[07:00.720 --> 07:11.400]  Found out where it was, went there, and got there in time for the show, and was told, no, you're not allowed in, because there's a 6 o'clock curfew, and we're going to play recorded programming all night long.
[07:12.160 --> 07:15.720]  And, you know, I have to say, for the rest of that night, I was livid.
[07:15.820 --> 07:16.620]  I was a maniac.
[07:16.620 --> 07:18.480]  I was just in a very, very bad mood.
[07:18.560 --> 07:19.520]  You saw me that night, right?
[07:19.680 --> 07:20.120]  Indeed I did.
[07:20.280 --> 07:21.780]  I was, uh, you know, fit to be tied.
[07:21.980 --> 07:22.520]  I really was.
[07:22.660 --> 07:23.920]  Because it was just so frustrating.
[07:23.920 --> 07:34.480]  Here we were, with all kinds of information, all kinds of ways to talk to our listeners who were out there, who were scared to death, in the dark, who had had their homes destroyed, but you know what?
[07:34.520 --> 07:37.380]  A radio, a radio is such a magical thing to have.
[07:37.460 --> 07:43.200]  I know, because I lived with a radio for two weeks, while I had no power, and no heat, and no connectivity.
[07:43.200 --> 07:44.560]  I had a portable radio.
[07:44.780 --> 07:45.740]  Thank God for that.
[07:45.740 --> 07:49.240]  I was able to hear what was happening in the world.
[07:49.420 --> 07:50.280]  And it was scary.
[07:50.560 --> 07:54.440]  It was scary because you didn't know what was happening next.
[07:54.640 --> 07:57.840]  You know, you didn't know, uh, was it going to be a, another storm?
[07:57.900 --> 07:59.640]  Is it going to get to freezing tonight?
[07:59.900 --> 08:02.040]  Uh, then the gas panic hit.
[08:02.420 --> 08:06.400]  It was, it was almost like, uh, watching civilization just crumble in front of you.
[08:06.560 --> 08:08.200]  Of course, we were all taking care of each other.
[08:08.440 --> 08:11.500]  We were all talking to each other, you know, neighbors and things like that.
[08:11.640 --> 08:13.720]  But, you know, you need that voice.
[08:13.960 --> 08:16.160]  You need, you need familiar voices on the radio.
[08:16.180 --> 08:21.900]  I'm not saying my voice is necessarily the one you want to hear, but you need, our audience needs to hear the people they're familiar with.
[08:22.040 --> 08:27.400]  Not lectures about American history that were played all night long, whatever it was that aired from, from the Pacific archives.
[08:27.560 --> 08:30.020]  Great programs, but totally inappropriate for then.
[08:31.140 --> 08:33.420]  So yeah, I was, I was very frustrated.
[08:33.790 --> 08:35.070]  Very frustrated, but I did calm down.
[08:35.780 --> 08:37.290]  I calmed down in a couple of days.
[08:38.550 --> 08:52.900]  And, um, uh, throughout this whole process, I had been trying to, uh, uh, to make contact, uh, with, uh, the people here to help find a place where we weren't locked out at six o'clock in the evening, where we could broadcast all night long, have familiar voices on the air,
[08:53.220 --> 08:55.340]  talk to our listeners, figure out a way to communicate with our listeners.
[08:55.430 --> 08:55.840]  And you know what?
[08:55.860 --> 08:58.620]  We have figured out a way for you to communicate with us this hour.
[08:59.120 --> 08:59.380]  Yeah.
[08:59.550 --> 09:00.740]  We're told we have no phones.
[09:00.810 --> 09:03.640]  We have no way of communicating, but as you just heard, Bernie is on the phone.
[09:05.070 --> 09:07.140]  Because hackers are able to, uh, figure things out.
[09:07.280 --> 09:13.810]  That's why I was trying to tell people we can find a studio, you know, at the hope conferences, hackers on planet earth.
[09:13.980 --> 09:17.020]  Every two years are these wonderful people known as radio Statler.
[09:17.160 --> 09:18.790]  I think, uh, you, you know them, Rob, right?
[09:18.880 --> 09:19.240]  Yes, indeed.
[09:19.430 --> 09:22.190]  And they build a radio station in a few hours.
[09:22.290 --> 09:28.500]  Now it obviously doesn't have a transmitter because we're not allowed to have a transmitter, but we do have a radio station, a perfectly functioning studio.
[09:28.760 --> 09:30.860]  They do this with their bare hands.
[09:30.980 --> 09:31.760]  It can be done.
[09:31.930 --> 09:37.380]  What I need to know is how do we connect to, uh, Empire State Building, which is where our transmitter is.
[09:37.500 --> 09:38.450]  What equipment do we need?
[09:38.620 --> 09:38.980]  Tell me.
[09:39.170 --> 09:39.740]  I will get it.
[09:39.880 --> 09:40.860]  I will hook us up.
[09:40.980 --> 09:44.430]  We will be on the air 24 hours, but, uh, you need to tell me.
[09:44.780 --> 09:45.640]  Nobody told me.
[09:45.780 --> 09:51.170]  And so for the second week, the week after that, November the 7th, we were locked out again.
[09:51.450 --> 09:52.900]  Another show wasted.
[09:53.160 --> 09:57.480]  Another opportunity to talk to our listeners down the tubes and more pre-recorded programming.
[09:57.690 --> 10:02.070]  So if you thought I was angry on the 31st, on November 7th, I was even more angry.
[10:02.420 --> 10:08.340]  So it was just so ridiculously frustrating and so preventable.
[10:08.600 --> 10:18.340]  It really was, was, uh, a low point, I think in, in our broadcasting history, uh, because, um, what, what, uh, what we hear for it, we're here for our listeners.
[10:18.480 --> 10:21.900]  And this is not in any way to put down the people who were on the air during the daytime.
[10:22.280 --> 10:25.260]  Uh, they, they did, as far as I know, they did a great job.
[10:25.310 --> 10:26.290]  I couldn't hear them.
[10:26.430 --> 10:27.930]  My radio didn't pick it up where I was.
[10:28.240 --> 10:35.170]  Uh, but it was basically a small group of people that were allowed in and the majority of us were not allowed in.
[10:35.230 --> 10:37.920]  In fact, the majority of us, I don't think even found out where the studio was.
[10:38.020 --> 10:41.710]  We knew where it was, but most people weren't given that information.
[10:41.730 --> 10:43.850]  It was really, really awful.
[10:44.550 --> 10:48.000]  Uh, and, and, you know, we, we exist to serve the public.
[10:48.000 --> 10:52.810]  We are here to, um, uh, to spread information in times of emergency.
[10:53.000 --> 10:54.290]  And this has been a time of emergency.
[10:54.430 --> 11:00.590]  This has been a, uh, a very unprecedented situation, even, even more than 9-11 was.
[11:00.680 --> 11:04.820]  9-11, we were back on after a few days, we were, uh, recovering.
[11:05.040 --> 11:06.400]  This is still the top story.
[11:06.500 --> 11:09.520]  This is still something that people are, are dealing with every day.
[11:09.640 --> 11:14.760]  There are still people throughout the area who have no place to live, who have, uh, lost everything.
[11:14.760 --> 11:16.680]  And we need to think about those people.
[11:16.970 --> 11:19.440]  We need to be talking about ways to help them.
[11:19.590 --> 11:20.680]  That's what we're here for.
[11:20.800 --> 11:22.090]  That's what radio should be here for.
[11:22.230 --> 11:27.800]  We spend a lot of time criticizing commercial radio because they dropped the ball when that happens.
[11:28.000 --> 11:35.200]  We, we talk about, um, uh, studios that are only satellite feeds or where the DJs aren't even in the same city.
[11:35.400 --> 11:37.280]  We weren't much better than that.
[11:37.400 --> 11:46.440]  But from, uh, the hours of six in the morning till nine and, uh, six in the evening till nine and in the morning, uh, when we just had recorded programming on, it really was an embarrassment.
[11:47.380 --> 11:56.580]  So, you know, finally, and you know, I do know that some programs were, were presented as recorded programs, uh, that were presented between those hours.
[11:57.120 --> 12:02.060]  Um, here's the thing, when you don't have power, which on the Island, we didn't have power.
[12:02.300 --> 12:03.540]  We didn't have connectivity.
[12:03.800 --> 12:06.060]  We didn't have a way to even get on the internet.
[12:06.470 --> 12:07.000]  All right.
[12:07.040 --> 12:10.760]  And we certainly didn't have a way to record programming and upload it.
[12:10.940 --> 12:19.850]  We did have a way to find some way to get into the city and do radio from wherever it is that we could do it from.
[12:20.580 --> 12:22.700]  That was basically all we wanted to do.
[12:22.780 --> 12:25.520]  And we just weren't allowed to do it.
[12:25.590 --> 12:27.920]  And that's what has frustrated me so much.
[12:28.020 --> 12:29.380]  Now, the third week.
[12:29.710 --> 12:31.230]  Yeah, well, November 7th.
[12:31.300 --> 12:32.960]  What about November 14th?
[12:33.280 --> 12:35.140]  All right, the third week of all this.
[12:35.330 --> 12:38.730]  Well, by that time, we had power back on the island.
[12:39.040 --> 12:41.440]  And we were able to record a program.
[12:41.620 --> 12:47.760]  We were able to do the ridiculous steps that we had to go through to get our regular program on the air.
[12:47.820 --> 12:54.020]  Recorded program would not have done the job that we needed to do as far as giving updated information, communicating with the listeners.
[12:54.640 --> 12:56.640]  Just live radio is what it's all about.
[12:56.700 --> 13:11.120]  And it's ridiculous that we would have a studio and not be able to do live radio or that we couldn't get another studio and simply broadcast from there or tie a phone line into the studio that we weren't allowed into or do a Skype call or do something with ISDN.
[13:11.210 --> 13:14.060]  There were so many things we could have done had we only been in the loop.
[13:14.420 --> 13:18.700]  So this third week, November the 14th, right?
[13:19.590 --> 13:26.350]  That week, well, they had pre-scheduled a fundraiser, a national fundraiser from the Pacifica Archives.
[13:26.470 --> 13:30.400]  Now, wonderful people, wonderful content, great programming, well worth supporting.
[13:32.130 --> 13:34.420]  But maybe that wasn't the best time to do it.
[13:34.500 --> 13:40.060]  When we had been preempted, when everybody had been preempted for so long, how about we have some local programming then?
[13:40.620 --> 13:48.730]  But no, you can't preempt the fundraiser, even though it's a fundraiser that has, is a national fundraiser, could have easily been rescheduled, wasn't.
[13:48.880 --> 13:50.420]  So we were preempted for a third week.
[13:50.560 --> 13:55.060]  And that's the point where I think all of us at Off the Hook just got kind of fed up with the whole thing.
[13:55.280 --> 13:57.700]  That's when we posted the open letter on our website.
[13:57.700 --> 14:06.590]  If you haven't seen it, www.2600.com, where we basically, we basically just laid on the line and say, this is ridiculous.
[14:07.060 --> 14:08.420]  We can't go on like this.
[14:08.500 --> 14:24.920]  In addition to being left out of the loop and not taken seriously when we could have really helped the situation and done a real service for our listeners, we basically had no way of communicating, of even getting the information.
[14:26.850 --> 14:28.660]  It's just not getting any better.
[14:29.140 --> 14:30.470]  We have that frustration.
[14:30.470 --> 14:32.660]  We have the endless fundraising.
[14:32.660 --> 14:38.730]  We're told now we have to do more fundraising next month to make up for all the things that got screwed up as a result of this.
[14:39.680 --> 14:43.460]  It's just, it is so incredibly stressful.
[14:43.940 --> 14:48.850]  And it's, I'm at the end of my rope as far as, as far as that goes.
[14:48.960 --> 14:50.040]  I think a lot of us are.
[14:50.500 --> 15:04.090]  And that's why that letter was posted where we basically say, we are officially thinking of alternatives to WBAI to broadcast Off the Hook because it has just been something that over the years, we're not growing.
[15:04.280 --> 15:05.660]  We're not moving forward.
[15:05.940 --> 15:11.280]  We have our, our, we have less airtime than we ever have had because of the constant fundraising that's always happening.
[15:11.380 --> 15:23.940]  And now we get preempted at the drop of a hat, no matter what, and not taken seriously as the kind of people that can actually make a difference and talk about the issues that are going on right outside our windows in ways that, that nobody else is covering.
[15:24.020 --> 15:28.260]  The technological aspects of Sandy alone are fascinating.
[15:28.540 --> 15:34.820]  And we, we could spend four hours, the four hours that we have, have missed talking just about that.
[15:35.330 --> 15:47.260]  However, obviously we're not going to be able to do that, but just the way the whole network fell apart, the way cellular phones stopped working, the way you couldn't connect to wifi hotspots anymore, the way that long distance networks began to fail.
[15:48.140 --> 15:59.160]  Electricity obviously went down, but landlines miraculously stayed up for the most part, except in downtown Manhattan, where landlines by Verizon seem to be out and will be out until December, according to what we have found out.
[15:59.920 --> 16:02.080]  Cable phones, lots of people have cable phones.
[16:02.200 --> 16:21.960]  In fact, my insurance broker has a cable phone, which means I couldn't call my insurance company for a couple to see how, how people have used technology and how technology has kind of kicked them in the ass because they depended on the wrong thing at the wrong time.
[16:22.120 --> 16:26.440]  People had cable phones, for instance, and lost cable service had no way of communicating with anybody.
[16:26.880 --> 16:36.970]  And in fact, just today, my cable phone went out again because apparently there's this battle going on between Lipa and CableVision and Lipa came and cut the cable wire.
[16:37.090 --> 16:42.760]  And now CableVision has to go and send a person to come to the house to say, yeah, the problem's not in the house.
[16:42.900 --> 16:43.780]  It's out there somewhere.
[16:44.020 --> 16:45.500]  And then it's going to go on for another week.
[16:45.780 --> 16:51.660]  But the thing is, and this is what really amazed me, they wanted to know if they could contact me on my cable phone.
[16:52.230 --> 16:54.580]  And it's just, it's simply incredible.
[16:54.730 --> 16:58.120]  Of course, you can't contact me on my cable phone because the cable is out.
[16:58.280 --> 16:59.580]  Think about what you're saying here.
[17:00.260 --> 17:07.100]  This is just one of many, many, many examples that I would like to focus on that we have so many things to share.
[17:07.940 --> 17:10.710]  And I don't want to dominate with my ranting here.
[17:10.820 --> 17:12.960]  It's just, it's been penting up for a month.
[17:13.180 --> 17:14.080]  Rob, I know you have something.
[17:14.230 --> 17:28.620]  And this is why it's been penting up because those of you listening who are involved in the hacker community, and I'm sure you, Emmanuel, and Bernie would back me up on this, is the way things worked here, the way the chips fell, it is so not how we work.
[17:28.780 --> 17:29.560]  We do what we do.
[17:29.600 --> 17:38.660]  We do what we do at Hope and at Radio Statler and things like this because we know people with all these talents and with all these fields of expertise, and we get them, we get everybody to contribute what they can.
[17:38.780 --> 17:45.000]  You know, we're accepting everything that people can add to help the situation or to help things get done the way we need them.
[17:45.340 --> 17:47.520]  And here, that just didn't happen.
[17:47.880 --> 17:50.230]  The station has us at its disposal.
[17:51.660 --> 17:57.320]  And we were not, they did not take advantage of us in a way that, you know, in a way they could have.
[17:57.900 --> 18:07.500]  So like, um, it's just, it's just, uh, it's, it's very frustrating and it's very, uh, yeah, I hear you.
[18:07.600 --> 18:07.940]  I hear you.
[18:08.060 --> 18:12.320]  We've been, we've been railing about it on our internal list for, uh, for quite some time.
[18:12.460 --> 18:12.730]  Uh, right.
[18:12.860 --> 18:13.560]  Did Bernie hang up?
[18:13.780 --> 18:18.460]  No, I, um, I accidentally hung up on him when I, when I, uh, picked this up, but here he is.
[18:18.700 --> 18:18.800]  Okay.
[18:18.920 --> 18:19.320]  We've got him back.
[18:19.320 --> 18:19.820]  Hand me Bernie.
[18:20.060 --> 18:20.560]  Here's Bernie.
[18:20.920 --> 18:24.710]  Uh, Bernie, I don't know if you've been able to hear, uh, what we've been saying, uh, you were disconnected.
[18:24.820 --> 18:43.880]  I've been able to hear, I've been able to tell them your tone of voice and get a good idea that you were more than a little upset that WBAI was needlessly off the air for most of the three weeks.
[18:44.140 --> 18:47.280]  Well, there was never a time, there was never a need for live
[18:51.650 --> 18:52.550]  past three weeks.
[18:52.690 --> 18:54.050]  And it was the unfortunate thing.
[18:54.170 --> 18:55.070]  It was just so needless.
[18:55.410 --> 18:58.310]  Well, I mean, uh, technically we were on the air the whole time.
[18:58.350 --> 19:00.510]  And that is what's so frustrating is that we had a signal.
[19:00.510 --> 19:03.410]  We were, you know, a lot of stations did not have signals.
[19:03.570 --> 19:06.210]  A lot of stations lost power, lost their studios.
[19:06.610 --> 19:10.350]  Uh, we obviously couldn't get into our studios because our building was damaged.
[19:10.470 --> 19:15.930]  The basement was completely flooded out and, uh, uh, we're still figuring out wiring and things like that.
[19:16.010 --> 19:19.830]  Our phones don't work, but, um, uh, we had a signal.
[19:19.950 --> 19:21.150]  We had a signal from a temporary place.
[19:21.230 --> 19:27.270]  And yes, you know, there was a restriction and, and, uh, the, the people who run that studio have every right to have whatever restriction they want.
[19:27.390 --> 19:29.390]  They can say that we can only talk about religion on the air.
[19:29.490 --> 19:33.630]  If they're going to give us their studio, they can say that you can only speak for the first five minutes for every hour.
[19:33.770 --> 19:37.110]  They can make whatever demands they want because we're using their space.
[19:37.270 --> 19:39.430]  And I don't think we're even charged to use their space.
[19:39.750 --> 19:40.330]  That's great.
[19:40.510 --> 19:44.690]  I mean, that's, that's within their rights, but what we should have been doing was looking for something better.
[19:44.710 --> 19:46.790]  And we were waiting to do that.
[19:46.910 --> 19:48.170]  We were totally willing and able.
[19:48.350 --> 19:57.090]  And we had, I mean, we've got, we've got friends in high places at various corporations that, uh, I guess are going to remain nameless, but kind of surprising.
[19:57.230 --> 20:00.510]  Yeah, we do have friends that will help us that will step up in times of crisis.
[20:00.910 --> 20:08.290]  And this was that time and we couldn't even get a call back or a return email on those few occasions where we were able to get online.
[20:08.570 --> 20:18.130]  Uh, think about what we have learned over the past, um, uh, year and change with Occupy Wall Street and what they have accomplished as far as getting word out to the masses.
[20:18.410 --> 20:25.190]  Uh, you have somebody riding a bicycle from one part of town to another live streaming it from his head to the world.
[20:25.390 --> 20:25.490]  Okay.
[20:25.570 --> 20:32.710]  Now, if you can do that, you can certainly figure out a way to get a 50,000 watt radio station to broadcast live with a microphone.
[20:32.930 --> 20:42.690]  So it's, you know, with that kind of ingenuity of, of, uh, both, um, uh, activist and hackers together, that is exactly what you need to be doing in a time of crisis.
[20:42.850 --> 20:44.350]  I don't want to make this all about us.
[20:44.450 --> 20:48.910]  It's not all about us because I'm, I think I'm speaking for a lot of people here that were silenced.
[20:49.030 --> 21:00.550]  We have so many good people here, so many experts, so many people that, uh, could talk about global warming or, or tenants rights or, or, uh, what the poor and homeless already have to deal with.
[21:00.690 --> 21:06.510]  Uh, so many, uh, issues that, um, we just weren't able to focus enough time on.
[21:06.610 --> 21:08.730]  We were able to focus some time on them, but not enough.
[21:08.850 --> 21:17.290]  And especially, you know, that first night when there was no power, uh, South of 14th street, actually South of, uh, I think it was, uh, 34th, even, even higher up.
[21:17.650 --> 21:20.430]  Um, that was when people needed us the most.
[21:20.430 --> 21:32.970]  That was when people really needed to be able to, uh, talk to us or just hear what we had to say, get reassured because you don't know what's going on half the time when you're in the dark, when, uh, the things that you depend upon don't exist anymore.
[21:33.590 --> 21:36.270]  You need to hear from somebody.
[21:36.470 --> 21:45.770]  I, you know, nine 11, what happened was anybody who had a car, uh, would park the car, turn on the radio and a crowd would gather around to hear what was going on.
[21:45.910 --> 21:47.250]  That is how crazy it gets.
[21:47.270 --> 21:48.790]  And it gets that way very quickly.
[21:49.070 --> 21:52.330]  So when you have a radio station, yeah, you need to take it very seriously.
[21:52.690 --> 21:57.250]  And, um, and, um, uh, your, your listeners are very dependent on that.
[21:57.750 --> 22:02.350]  Um, so anyway, just to, um, just to sum this up, and I would like to take, uh, phone calls.
[22:02.430 --> 22:03.230]  I know we can do this.
[22:03.330 --> 22:06.910]  I know it's going to be a challenge, but we're going to try because we believe in experimentation.
[22:07.490 --> 22:13.270]  Uh, but, um, um, what I, um, wanted to say was we, we, we put this letter up on our, our website.
[22:13.270 --> 22:18.130]  We have gotten a tremendous, a tremendous outpouring dozens, hundreds of letters from people.
[22:18.870 --> 22:22.230]  Um, and a lot of you are very angry and I understand that.
[22:22.350 --> 22:24.910]  I don't want you to be angry at WBAI.
[22:25.030 --> 22:28.130]  I don't want you to stop supporting WBAI because this radio station is crucial.
[22:28.250 --> 22:29.470]  There's no question about that.
[22:29.890 --> 22:40.450]  Uh, the problem is one that, uh, is, is just with the system here with the way things are, are, are set up where there is the communication just isn't working.
[22:40.890 --> 22:43.170]  And, uh, that is why it's been so frustrating for us.
[22:43.270 --> 22:49.950]  But, um, I, I, I would like people to realize that it's, um, it's, it's something that's extremely frustrating for us.
[22:50.230 --> 22:56.530]  Uh, I don't want you to give up on the place itself, even though we very likely will be moving someplace.
[22:56.530 --> 22:58.970]  We have gotten offers from, from other places.
[22:59.010 --> 23:04.610]  In fact, um, one of my favorite radio stations, WFMU has, has been very supportive of us.
[23:04.710 --> 23:09.090]  And, uh, we might be moving over there, uh, in, in the future, in the near future.
[23:09.230 --> 23:10.510]  It's, it's entirely possible.
[23:10.950 --> 23:17.850]  That is, um, to me, an incredible, um, uh, vote of acceptance from people we really admire.
[23:17.970 --> 23:20.230]  I consider that to be one of the best radio stations in the world.
[23:20.610 --> 23:24.090]  Uh, it's, uh, it's right across the river in, uh, Jersey City.
[23:24.810 --> 23:35.710]  Um, what's unfortunate is that the signal does not really go past, um, Queens and Brooklyn to the east, uh, get pretty much the same area in the city and, uh, to the west.
[23:35.750 --> 23:36.870]  I think we even get more to the west.
[23:37.330 --> 23:41.110]  Um, but, um, unfortunately that would affect listeners in that area.
[23:41.270 --> 23:42.270]  It does not affect the internet at all.
[23:42.370 --> 23:47.530]  In fact, I think the internet would even be better because, uh, I believe they have a really strong following on the internet.
[23:47.730 --> 24:03.350]  This is something we are considering, uh, because we need that kind of, um, community radio communication where we can be there in times of stress, not be locked out, uh, be able to communicate, feel like we're a part of the process, not outside the process.
[24:03.470 --> 24:05.050]  And that is how we have felt for the last three weeks.
[24:05.830 --> 24:06.150]  Okay.
[24:06.290 --> 24:10.850]  You know, I don't want to focus on our problems, our complaints, because we have such limited time.
[24:10.870 --> 24:14.610]  And that's, that is another one of our complaints is the limited amount of time we, we have.
[24:14.730 --> 24:30.310]  I do want to focus in, um, uh, perhaps between the three of us, uh, in our, what we have noticed as far as, uh, technology in, uh, in this crisis, when, when the storm hit the aftermath of the storm, uh, what failed, what worked, I will tell you something that,
[24:30.350 --> 24:31.930]  that worked really, really well for me.
[24:32.430 --> 24:44.090]  Um, that, that I ran out of gas, wasn't able to use my car, had to walk into the village every day, uh, you know, the, a couple of miles, uh, a couple of hours, but it's a good way to kill time when you have no power and no lights.
[24:44.410 --> 24:46.530]  Uh, you don't really want to stay up too late.
[24:46.690 --> 24:47.390]  You really don't.
[24:47.690 --> 24:56.210]  Uh, but, uh, when you, when you take a nice long walk, uh, to the village and a nice long walk back and spend your time at Starbucks and, and they have been amazing.
[24:56.370 --> 24:56.810]  They have been amazing.
[24:56.890 --> 24:58.430]  They let you stay there all day long.
[24:58.630 --> 25:01.530]  You know, you can get online and, and, and connect and talk to people.
[25:01.890 --> 25:02.950]  It is a godsend.
[25:03.030 --> 25:03.890]  They don't bother you.
[25:04.150 --> 25:10.670]  Uh, and it's funny because I hadn't gone to Starbucks all my life and here I was depending on them, uh, to get me through this crisis.
[25:11.010 --> 25:19.450]  Uh, so that to me, that worked as far as that particular, um, gathering point, that particular bit of technology, their wifi for the most part worked.
[25:19.530 --> 25:22.250]  And one time I went and I asked, is your wifi working?
[25:22.410 --> 25:23.130]  And they said, yes.
[25:23.410 --> 25:29.210]  And then after I bought all my coffee and other products, they just happened to mention, but it's not connected to anything.
[25:29.310 --> 25:30.970]  It's not connected to the, it works.
[25:31.150 --> 25:33.270]  And yeah, there was a signal, but it didn't go anywhere.
[25:33.730 --> 25:35.590]  And that didn't really help me at all.
[25:35.650 --> 25:38.030]  And I had to finish my coffee and do something else.
[25:38.410 --> 25:41.330]  Uh, so that, um, that for the most part worked.
[25:41.430 --> 25:47.390]  The other thing that worked amazingly well, once phone service came back, once cell phone service came back, um, was my Kindle.
[25:47.590 --> 25:58.570]  I was able to, uh, in fact, where I don't get service normally, I was able to lean out my window with the Kindle, wait for a 3G signal to appear and buy a copy of the New York times for that day.
[25:58.950 --> 26:03.390]  And it would take a half hour to get to me, but once it got there, it was such an amazing feeling.
[26:03.550 --> 26:03.710]  Wow.
[26:03.770 --> 26:05.370]  I've got today's and I have something to read.
[26:05.370 --> 26:08.710]  I can read all night long and I have a little light next to my Kindle.
[26:08.790 --> 26:09.690]  So I was able to do that.
[26:10.050 --> 26:18.950]  Another thing that I was able to do by going to Starbucks and plugging into their AC and recharging my laptop as I did this, I was able to pirate things from DVDs.
[26:19.150 --> 26:34.490]  Using an amazing program called Handbrake, I was able to take my Arrested Development DVDs and copy episodes to my thumb drive so that when I got home later on, I would have a laptop that was fully charged using minimal power because it was taking it from the thumb drive and I was,
[26:34.590 --> 26:40.790]  I would be able to stay sane by watching episodes of Arrested Development while everything around me was dark and silent.
[26:40.970 --> 26:46.410]  Now imagine if you didn't have that power to be able to copy something from a DVD.
[26:46.850 --> 26:48.450]  You know, we're told that that's piracy.
[26:48.550 --> 26:48.970]  That's illegal.
[26:49.130 --> 26:50.630]  You can only do things in a particular way.
[26:51.070 --> 26:56.870]  You know, I probably would have been able to watch maybe one or two episodes before the power went out, but here I was able to watch so much more.
[26:57.010 --> 27:01.090]  So it makes you think a lot about, uh, the powers of, of technology.
[27:02.830 --> 27:03.830]  Bernie, are you still with us?
[27:05.510 --> 27:06.030]  Oh, good.
[27:06.150 --> 27:06.310]  Okay.
[27:16.100 --> 27:22.200]  Well, yeah, we had a lot of trees come down and, uh, it actually took quite a while to get around the trees just to get to a road.
[27:22.580 --> 27:24.080]  Um, that was the least of it.
[27:24.180 --> 27:25.480]  I consider myself very lucky.
[27:25.700 --> 27:39.980]  Uh, I, I know so many people who have been through so much, uh, and yeah, I had no water and no heat and no electricity and no connectivity, but you know, I, I knew something like that was coming and I dealt with it and I adjusted when I, when everybody was going nuts over,
[27:39.980 --> 27:43.620]  over gas, I just didn't have a car from that point.
[27:43.740 --> 27:46.040]  And I, I, I dealt with that.
[27:46.200 --> 27:48.660]  Uh, the worst part was not having a way to get into the city.
[27:48.760 --> 27:50.380]  The train stopped running for a full week.
[27:50.620 --> 27:54.380]  Once that, once I heard that train horn, that was the best sound in the world.
[27:54.480 --> 28:00.640]  I was able to walk to the train station and take a train into town and actually be a part of civilization again.
[28:00.760 --> 28:01.260]  That was cool.
[28:01.420 --> 28:02.400]  That was one day.
[28:03.240 --> 28:10.820]  Uh, and it was one day I also really wanted to help out here as well, but again, couldn't get anybody to, uh, to take that seriously or call back.
[28:11.080 --> 28:18.160]  Uh, so I went back afterwards and, uh, went back to the darkness, but you know, it was kind of, um, kind of like meditating.
[28:18.360 --> 28:24.500]  Uh, you're in this, uh, very different environment where it's much quieter and much darker, much colder, certainly.
[28:25.080 --> 28:29.380]  Uh, and you have a lot of time to think and just to sort of relax a little or try to relax a little bit.
[28:29.660 --> 28:34.000]  And, and, um, a lot of things that you normally have to do, you simply can't do.
[28:34.160 --> 28:37.020]  So you, you wind up not worrying about them after a while.
[28:38.040 --> 28:38.600]  Emmanuel?
[28:38.860 --> 28:39.020]  Yes.
[28:39.540 --> 28:57.530]  Do you have people who will be looking at backup systems from now on, um, after going through this experience, either buying, um, fuel power generators or photovoltaic panels or satellite phones or things like that.
[28:57.590 --> 29:00.950]  So if they need to be connected, they can.
[29:01.310 --> 29:07.850]  Well, you know, I, I kind of hope that people rely more on themselves, uh, realize that, okay, you know what?
[29:07.850 --> 29:10.350]  I can survive without power for a few days.
[29:10.350 --> 29:22.590]  I can survive without a car for a few days rather than, I think some of what we saw, we saw panicking, uh, where, where people were buying all the gas for the generators and their massive SUVs.
[29:22.790 --> 29:30.450]  And that is what created a perceived shortage because people were, were filling up and stations were running out because not all of them were open.
[29:30.590 --> 29:35.870]  When in actuality had people simply limited what they were getting, then, uh, we all would have had enough.
[29:35.970 --> 29:39.230]  There wouldn't have been a panic and, uh, we could have been a little bit calmer.
[29:39.430 --> 29:50.750]  So I, you know, I kind of think that, um, the survivalist mentality can sort of work against us when people feel that they got a stockpile and everything and they have to, uh, uh, put themselves first before everybody else.
[29:51.170 --> 29:56.570]  You can simply, um, change your needs temporarily if you know that you're going to get through it okay.
[29:56.810 --> 29:59.710]  And I never had a doubt that, uh, power wasn't going to be restored.
[30:00.010 --> 30:02.450]  Uh, I simply had to hunker down for another day.
[30:02.550 --> 30:04.330]  It got down really, really cold in my house.
[30:04.450 --> 30:06.690]  It got to 39 degrees inside my house.
[30:07.170 --> 30:16.790]  And when I saw those, those, uh, those wonderful power workers from, from Indiana walking through the forest to get me back online, it was the most amazing feeling in the world.
[30:16.890 --> 30:20.870]  It was after nine days, but, uh, I was extremely happy to see them.
[30:20.970 --> 30:24.590]  And I never for one moment thought that, uh, the power workers were slacking on the job.
[30:24.690 --> 30:28.150]  LIPA, yeah, LIPA really has some communication issues.
[30:28.270 --> 30:35.690]  I think LIPA and BAI might be able to get together and learn some things from each uh, how to communicate or how not to communicate or whatever.
[30:35.710 --> 30:42.990]  I don't want to harp on it, but, um, there, there, there are so many things that we can, uh, we can learn from a situation like this.
[30:43.590 --> 30:44.790]  Unprecedented in our history.
[30:44.930 --> 30:46.850]  I don't think anybody has seen anything like this.
[30:47.270 --> 30:53.810]  Um, I don't know, uh, maybe we'll see it again because of all the, uh, the global warming and, and climate change that has been taking place.
[30:53.930 --> 30:55.010]  There's a lot of talk about that.
[30:55.150 --> 31:04.230]  And this is exactly what we should be talking about on these airwaves or there is so much expertise here in, in the scientific aspects of it all.
[31:04.630 --> 31:08.010]  And, uh, can talk to people and, and really get the word out there.
[31:08.190 --> 31:11.650]  So, um, hopefully, hopefully we can move forward in that particular regard.
[31:11.810 --> 31:12.130]  Rob.
[31:12.290 --> 31:16.450]  And that's where technology really stood out, uh, during this whole disaster because people were keeping in touch.
[31:16.830 --> 31:20.390]  Um, you know, fortunately I live in a part of Manhattan that wasn't too affected by anything.
[31:20.750 --> 31:22.210]  Uh, I didn't lose power, but, um...
[31:22.210 --> 31:24.130]  So many people I know didn't lose power.
[31:24.290 --> 31:25.870]  And they seem to be the only people that didn't lose power.
[31:25.950 --> 31:27.330]  So many people say, yeah, I didn't even lose power.
[31:27.430 --> 31:29.590]  And, and, you know, on the south shore of Long Island even.
[31:30.170 --> 31:40.730]  Uh, so yeah, yeah, I, I kind of feel some animosity towards you for not affect, not being affected by the storm in any way, apparently, other than having to run over to the studio on, on the 31st to be locked out.
[31:41.090 --> 31:44.330]  Uh, but, uh, yeah, I, I guess in a way that was kind of weird for you.
[31:44.490 --> 31:45.050]  Yeah, it was.
[31:45.130 --> 31:47.870]  But, uh, then I was keeping in touch with, uh, my family out on Long Island.
[31:48.070 --> 31:49.150]  Um, they're on the south shore.
[31:49.330 --> 31:51.890]  And of course, uh, I was hearing all the updates from them.
[31:52.010 --> 31:54.930]  They were keeping in touch and keeping updated through their mobile phones.
[31:54.930 --> 31:56.470]  I don't think I asked you how did they fare?
[31:56.630 --> 31:57.810]  They, they fared, they fared well.
[31:57.910 --> 31:58.690]  It could have been much worse.
[31:58.870 --> 32:00.810]  Uh, a tree fell, missed the house, hit a fence.
[32:00.990 --> 32:01.230]  Okay.
[32:01.470 --> 32:06.310]  Um, but, uh, but, um, what they were, what they were doing was they were keeping in touch with their mobile phones.
[32:06.430 --> 32:11.570]  And then when the charge ran out, they would plug them into their cars and drive around the block a couple of times to charge the phone up.
[32:11.750 --> 32:12.150]  Uh-huh.
[32:12.230 --> 32:15.350]  And, uh, this was working up until there was no more gas.
[32:15.570 --> 32:18.730]  And, uh, so, but by, by that time, um, I think the worst had been over.
[32:18.890 --> 32:27.950]  There were places like, uh, libraries and, uh, I think banks and places like that that were, were letting people come in and just recharge their, And that is an incredible thing.
[32:28.070 --> 32:32.410]  I've seen so many outpourings of generosity, of organization.
[32:32.690 --> 32:34.430]  Starbucks is one thing that I mentioned.
[32:34.850 --> 32:43.410]  But just local businesses of all sorts, people just going out and helping with the cutting of trees, or just checking on people to make sure they're okay.
[32:43.750 --> 32:44.810]  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.
[32:44.810 --> 32:52.450]  For God's sake, if you know of anybody, if you're in a neighborhood that was affected by this, and if you're within the sound of my voice, you are, check on your neighbors.
[32:52.570 --> 32:54.010]  Check on people that you know of.
[32:54.030 --> 32:54.910]  Make sure everyone's okay.
[32:54.910 --> 32:56.170]  Make sure they're taken care of.
[32:56.410 --> 33:02.330]  Because New Yorkers really, and New Jerseyites, and people all throughout the region, we take care of each other.
[33:02.510 --> 33:07.670]  And I've seen so many examples of people who really care.
[33:08.490 --> 33:15.550]  I've been watching reports of people going to Staten Island and to the Rockaways, just trying to help out in whatever way they can.
[33:15.970 --> 33:19.730]  And tomorrow especially is going to be painful for so many people.
[33:21.050 --> 33:25.230]  Redcross.org, obviously, is one of the main places you can get information on how to help out.
[33:25.530 --> 33:32.810]  But sometimes just going down there, not being a tourist, but going down and getting your hands dirty, and picking things up, and just asking people what they need.
[33:33.210 --> 33:34.730]  Sometimes that's the best way to do things.
[33:35.190 --> 33:35.610]  Yeah.
[33:35.850 --> 33:47.610]  And also, it was a learning experience because I actually learned a lot about my neighborhood, having to navigate most of it on foot rather than public transit, which was all but knocked out near me.
[33:47.710 --> 33:48.750]  There were no subways, of course.
[33:48.910 --> 33:50.350]  The buses were crawling.
[33:50.590 --> 33:56.610]  And that night on Halloween night, I had gotten on a bus to take it down to where the temporary studio was.
[33:56.610 --> 33:57.530]  Oh, those free buses.
[33:57.830 --> 33:58.890]  What a farce that was.
[33:59.050 --> 34:00.450]  They were sardine cans.
[34:00.890 --> 34:00.890]  That was an adventure.
[34:00.890 --> 34:01.550]  That was an adventure.
[34:01.690 --> 34:04.450]  And it was actually going much slower than I would have gone on foot.
[34:04.530 --> 34:06.690]  It took me half an hour to get off the bus to walk.
[34:06.990 --> 34:09.230]  And we only had gone three blocks in that half hour.
[34:09.490 --> 34:11.470]  And of course, I was going much faster than the bus.
[34:11.570 --> 34:11.690]  Yeah.
[34:11.810 --> 34:18.570]  But since that wasn't working, I got off the bus, and I ended up half walking, half jogging down 20 blocks or so of Manhattan.
[34:19.010 --> 34:20.530]  I might be running out of battery over there.
[34:21.630 --> 34:22.710]  Tell me you brought your charger.
[34:23.070 --> 34:23.690]  I did not.
[34:27.750 --> 34:30.610]  What happened is that I ended up learning a lot more about my neighborhood.
[34:30.610 --> 34:35.150]  I walked past things I had no idea I lived near because I couldn't take the subway and I couldn't take the bus.
[34:35.450 --> 34:36.190]  I don't think it's your battery.
[34:36.310 --> 34:37.150]  Somebody just says, what's up?
[34:37.170 --> 34:38.470]  I have no idea who's saying that.
[34:38.590 --> 34:39.510]  But you know what?
[34:39.590 --> 34:40.970]  We're using Rob's phone on the radio.
[34:41.050 --> 34:41.590]  That's what's up.
[34:41.770 --> 34:43.190]  So stop texting us.
[34:43.870 --> 34:46.750]  Bernie, we're going to lose you in a moment because we're going to try and take some phone calls.
[34:46.810 --> 34:47.830]  That's something we really want to try.
[34:48.490 --> 34:49.270]  Anything you want to say?
[34:49.350 --> 34:49.430]  That's good.
[34:49.490 --> 34:50.990]  I'm glad it's
[34:54.170 --> 34:55.530]  able to take listener calls.
[34:55.730 --> 34:57.030]  I commend you for doing that.
[34:57.030 --> 34:59.390]  Well, I know the personal computer show coming on afterwards.
[34:59.590 --> 35:01.190]  Last I checked, they were soldering things.
[35:01.330 --> 35:03.170]  And I think they're coming with a solution of their own.
[35:03.870 --> 35:06.010]  But this is a low tech solution.
[35:06.170 --> 35:08.110]  Basically holding a cell phone up to a microphone.
[35:08.370 --> 35:14.210]  Yeah, it sounds kind of crappy, but not so bad, especially when it's a lifeline to listeners.
[35:14.470 --> 35:15.530]  And we're going to give out a phone number.
[35:15.870 --> 35:17.690]  And we're going to ask our listeners to call us.
[35:17.790 --> 35:19.990]  And for the first time, talk to us on the radio.
[35:19.990 --> 35:27.010]  Yeah, and Bernie may not sound so great right now, but he sounds a lot better than he would if he were just shouting at us from Pennsylvania.
[35:28.190 --> 35:28.550]  That's
[35:34.390 --> 35:34.970]  three weeks ago.
[35:35.190 --> 35:36.090]  Yes, thanks for your support.
[35:36.170 --> 35:36.830]  It's been heartwarming.
[35:37.570 --> 35:38.610]  Thanks so much for your support.
[35:38.610 --> 35:40.070]  It means the world to us.
[35:40.170 --> 35:44.690]  And wherever it is we wind up, hopefully you'll come there with us.
[35:45.490 --> 35:47.310]  You know, nothing is set in stone yet.
[35:47.610 --> 35:49.630]  There's still a lot of conversations we have to have here.
[35:49.630 --> 35:52.070]  But it's nice to know that worse comes to worse.
[35:52.170 --> 35:53.610]  And I don't even know if that's the case.
[35:53.810 --> 35:59.550]  We will have a home someplace and a place where we can communicate with our listeners.
[35:59.710 --> 36:01.390]  Because without that, it's nothing.
[36:01.410 --> 36:03.030]  It's no fun for us.
[36:03.150 --> 36:06.450]  We're not serving a purpose, being locked out and being silenced.
[36:06.590 --> 36:08.150]  It's now the day before Thanksgiving.
[36:08.150 --> 36:10.210]  It's almost a month since the storm hit us.
[36:10.310 --> 36:14.010]  And this is the first time we've been allowed to go on the radio to talk about it.
[36:14.010 --> 36:18.210]  We offered to come in in the afternoon when people were allowed in the restricted studio.
[36:18.430 --> 36:19.530]  But again, no response.
[36:20.010 --> 36:22.910]  It's just, you know, we've been here for 24 years.
[36:23.210 --> 36:30.910]  And you'd think that we'd be taken a little bit more seriously, that hackers would be accepted a little bit more, especially in an alternative place like this.
[36:31.050 --> 36:32.270]  And it's pretty disappointing.
[36:32.690 --> 36:35.750]  But one way or another, we will continue doing what we do.
[36:35.790 --> 36:36.970]  And that's a promise.
[36:37.210 --> 36:38.890]  Bernie, thank you so much for joining us.
[36:38.990 --> 36:39.750]  Good hearing your voice.
[36:39.870 --> 36:40.930]  I think you sound great.
[36:41.910 --> 36:46.790]  And hopefully we'll have you back on the regular phone, wherever it is we're broadcasting from, and then next time.
[36:48.130 --> 36:48.590]  Good luck.
[36:48.790 --> 36:49.490]  We're working on it.
[36:49.610 --> 36:49.950]  All right.
[36:50.390 --> 36:51.790]  I'm going to hand you this back, Rob.
[36:51.930 --> 36:52.970]  I think your battery's fine.
[36:53.030 --> 36:54.110]  Maybe you just want to check your levels.
[36:54.210 --> 36:56.050]  And then what I'm going to do is I'm going to give out the phone number.
[36:56.090 --> 36:56.430]  Yeah, that's good.
[36:56.750 --> 36:58.630]  And our listeners can call us.
[36:58.630 --> 37:16.910]  But also, you know, I want to also express our extreme sympathy for so many of our listeners who I know have been hit so hard by this, whether you're in Coney Island or places like Oceanside or Freeport or any place on the Jersey Shore.
[37:17.070 --> 37:18.230]  So many communities there.
[37:19.350 --> 37:22.670]  Staten Island, our friends in Staten Island have suffered so badly.
[37:23.030 --> 37:27.570]  The Rockaways, the horrible tragedy of Breezy Point.
[37:28.570 --> 37:30.370]  So much devastation, so much loss.
[37:30.490 --> 37:32.330]  We have lost way too many people.
[37:32.590 --> 37:35.610]  Thank God we haven't lost more, though, because we certainly could have.
[37:35.790 --> 37:44.170]  I drove through the Midtown Tunnel today, and I realized, you know, as I was driving through this, that this entire tunnel was underwater during this event.
[37:44.170 --> 37:47.390]  In fact, for days afterwards, so much could have happened.
[37:47.390 --> 37:58.110]  In the East Village, devastated, unrecognizable, boilers and generators all over the place, businesses destroyed, and, of course, rebuilding as much as possible.
[37:58.230 --> 38:02.650]  But people are really affected by this, and this is something that, you know, you can definitely help with.
[38:02.750 --> 38:06.310]  Visit your local businesses, see how people did, help them out however you can.
[38:06.510 --> 38:07.990]  This is where we need to come together.
[38:08.210 --> 38:08.970]  Winter is coming.
[38:09.150 --> 38:10.430]  Winter is around the corner.
[38:10.570 --> 38:12.750]  Winter, in fact, visited a couple of weeks ago.
[38:14.410 --> 38:19.550]  And people are going to need our help, and they're going to need a strong voice on the air to do that.
[38:19.630 --> 38:24.310]  And hopefully BAI will come through in the future and be that voice 24 hours a day.
[38:25.390 --> 38:26.690]  What's the status of your phone there, Rob?
[38:26.730 --> 38:27.610]  My phone is fine.
[38:27.870 --> 38:29.430]  And so this is kind of interesting.
[38:29.430 --> 38:37.150]  What we've set up is what I've done, I have a publicly available Google Voice number, which is usually just a voicemail.
[38:37.150 --> 38:38.670]  I don't take calls on it.
[38:38.930 --> 38:45.010]  But what I've done is, just for the rest of this hour, I've forwarded it to my mobile phone.
[38:45.390 --> 38:51.430]  So if you call my Google Voice number, you should get through to my phone here, and we'll put you up to the microphone.
[38:51.670 --> 38:56.650]  Let me just say one thing before you give out the number, and that's that only one person can get through it once, obviously.
[38:56.910 --> 39:01.230]  Everybody else who calls through is going to get a recording saying that you didn't get through.
[39:01.590 --> 39:06.770]  What I'd like people to do is wait until the person that we're talking to hangs up, because we're just going to get call-waiting beeps.
[39:06.770 --> 39:09.870]  We can't figure out how to turn off the call-waiting beeps.
[39:10.070 --> 39:11.070]  Now, you have...
[39:11.070 --> 39:13.430]  We're going to put the company on line for this.
[39:13.690 --> 39:14.750]  Metro PCS.
[39:14.850 --> 39:15.270]  Yes, I have Metro PCS.
[39:15.270 --> 39:17.610]  Apparently, there is no way to turn off call-waiting.
[39:17.690 --> 39:21.910]  They say there's no way on your phone, which is a smartphone, by the way, an Android smartphone.
[39:21.930 --> 39:22.630]  It's a smartphone.
[39:22.890 --> 39:23.850]  Can't turn it off on there.
[39:23.970 --> 39:25.050]  It's apparently not that smart.
[39:25.090 --> 39:27.870]  My stupid Nokia phone can turn off...
[39:27.870 --> 39:28.590]  It's a GSM phone.
[39:28.690 --> 39:29.590]  You can turn off call-waiting.
[39:29.650 --> 39:30.690]  You can do all kinds of cool things.
[39:30.930 --> 39:33.870]  You can't even conference on your phone to tie up the line or something like that.
[39:33.870 --> 39:39.030]  We are going to try and disable Google Voice while somebody is talking to us.
[39:39.150 --> 39:41.710]  What's somebody going to get then if they call while it's disabled?
[39:41.770 --> 39:46.750]  They might get my personal voicemail or they might just get a busy signal or something else.
[39:46.830 --> 39:47.170]  I don't know.
[39:47.310 --> 39:47.530]  Okay.
[39:47.690 --> 39:53.990]  But if you hear me talking to you on a recording, then you haven't gotten through and you don't have to leave me a message.
[39:53.990 --> 39:55.590]  You can just hang up and try again.
[39:55.850 --> 39:57.790]  Let's try and have as much time as possible for a listener.
[39:57.890 --> 39:59.530]  Now, your ringer is off, right?
[39:59.650 --> 40:04.350]  My ringer is off, but I'm looking at the screen and I should be able to see when somebody calls.
[40:04.510 --> 40:04.590]  Okay.
[40:04.650 --> 40:05.490]  I'm going to give out the phone number.
[40:05.610 --> 40:05.970]  Can I do that?
[40:06.110 --> 40:06.590]  You can do that.
[40:06.630 --> 40:06.770]  Okay.
[40:06.870 --> 40:10.670]  It's area code 347, which is Brooklyn, Queens, and various other places.
[40:10.670 --> 40:13.770]  It's local in case people still have local calling plans.
[40:17.110 --> 40:17.750]  347-948.
[40:18.310 --> 40:20.430]  And stop me if I get it wrong, if I'm reading somebody else's number.
[40:20.870 --> 40:21.850]  It's right so far, right?
[40:22.170 --> 40:22.730]  I think so.
[40:22.830 --> 40:23.790]  You don't even know your own number.
[40:24.030 --> 40:24.570]  No, that's correct.
[40:25.730 --> 40:29.470]  347-948-8783.
[40:31.070 --> 40:34.770]  I just want to see how everyone's poised over their touchstone.
[40:34.930 --> 40:36.110]  And do we have a call coming in yet?
[40:36.290 --> 40:37.510]  We don't have a call coming in yet.
[40:37.650 --> 40:39.630]  It does take time for Google Voice to process this.
[40:39.650 --> 40:43.670]  And it also takes time for our tape delay to work itself out.
[40:43.750 --> 40:45.690]  And for our brains to realize that the phone's ringing.
[40:45.790 --> 40:46.010]  Yes.
[40:46.050 --> 40:49.550]  And so that's 347-948-87.
[40:49.790 --> 40:50.990]  Ah, we've got someone coming in.
[40:51.170 --> 40:51.410]  Okay.
[40:52.070 --> 40:52.890]  Are you going to hold it up?
[40:52.950 --> 40:53.290]  Okay, go ahead.
[40:53.350 --> 40:56.790]  Yes, I'm going to hold it up and see if this works.
[40:56.830 --> 40:57.650]  Hello, you're on the air.
[40:58.330 --> 41:01.870]  Hi, how are you doing?
[41:01.960 --> 41:02.800]  Can you hear me?
[41:03.680 --> 41:04.480]  I can hear you.
[41:04.740 --> 41:07.000]  Okay, because I'm far away and Rob is right next to you.
[41:07.120 --> 41:08.500]  So it's going to be a little bit of a struggle.
[41:08.660 --> 41:11.800]  But tell us, how did you make out in the storm?
[41:20.380 --> 41:20.700]  Basically.
[41:21.220 --> 41:22.520]  Well, that's a blessing.
[41:23.480 --> 41:27.680]  Yeah, things are really old.
[41:27.860 --> 41:31.520]  And, you know, this is definitely a bit of a good note.
[41:31.720 --> 41:37.160]  But, you know, I felt like, oh, no, our building's going to blow down.
[41:37.160 --> 41:39.600]  Our tree's going to come through the back window.
[41:39.820 --> 41:46.540]  But we had, you know, just blinking lights a little bit and nothing.
[41:46.940 --> 41:58.220]  I mean, it was, you know, friends that have money and live in, like, much more lavish places were, you know.
[42:02.450 --> 42:05.270]  Okay, well, we want to open it up for as many people as possible.
[42:05.370 --> 42:08.510]  Is there anything else that you want to say to our listeners or to the station or anything?
[42:08.510 --> 42:09.350]  Well,
[42:12.650 --> 42:18.310]  how you weren't let in and being honest about how you were treated.
[42:19.750 --> 42:24.030]  And we would really miss you if, you know, you're not on BAI.
[42:25.410 --> 42:28.790]  But we'll definitely, you know, find you wherever you go.
[42:29.070 --> 42:31.230]  And just appreciate your show.
[42:31.410 --> 42:36.670]  And I'm glad that you were able to just be open and say exactly what happened.
[42:36.670 --> 42:39.910]  And I think it's kind of, you know, it's very, very unfortunate.
[42:41.690 --> 42:48.410]  But, you know, we all have to leave our, you know, drama sometimes and go and live somewhere else.
[42:48.470 --> 42:52.990]  And I think BAI really needs to get their act together and move somewhere else.
[42:53.130 --> 42:58.350]  You know, we can't keep funding that.
[42:58.830 --> 42:59.190]  Right.
[42:59.550 --> 43:00.290]  You know, we
[43:06.460 --> 43:07.180]  do, I think.
[43:07.360 --> 43:07.560]  Right.
[43:07.700 --> 43:09.240]  Okay, listen, thank you so much for your call.
[43:09.320 --> 43:11.540]  And give our good wishes to everybody in Bushwick.
[43:11.620 --> 43:13.160]  And we're going to try to take another call.
[43:13.160 --> 43:16.920]  Let me hold the phone, Rob, because it's better for me if I can control this.
[43:17.400 --> 43:19.800]  Well, actually, I don't know how to pick up the phone.
[43:21.200 --> 43:21.840]  How does it...
[43:21.840 --> 43:22.660]  Okay, you hold it then.
[43:22.820 --> 43:23.140]  I will...
[43:23.140 --> 43:26.300]  But the thing is, the call waiting disable thing didn't work.
[43:26.360 --> 43:28.980]  I clicked on Google to disable it, but they still kept coming through.
[43:29.120 --> 43:29.820]  So we're just going to keep...
[43:29.820 --> 43:30.780]  Okay, we've got another call coming in.
[43:30.780 --> 43:31.540]  Okay, who do we have?
[43:31.580 --> 43:32.100]  Where are you calling from?
[43:33.240 --> 43:35.000]  Hello, you are...
[43:35.000 --> 43:36.040]  Hit the right button.
[43:36.300 --> 43:37.340]  Trying to hit the right button.
[43:38.720 --> 43:39.040]  Okay.
[43:39.120 --> 43:39.640]  Ah, there you are.
[43:39.800 --> 43:40.560]  Okay, you're on the air.
[43:51.040 --> 43:51.500]  In Queens.
[43:51.920 --> 43:52.180]  Uh-huh.
[43:53.180 --> 43:53.980]  Is this Rebel?
[43:54.360 --> 43:54.580]  Oh.
[43:55.540 --> 43:56.100]  Sounds like Rebel.
[43:56.220 --> 44:03.880]  Yes, I just want to mention that I remember during Pearl Harbor when the cell phones didn't work in that catastrophe.
[44:04.360 --> 44:06.360]  I remember the people who, you know, the...
[44:06.360 --> 44:07.420]  Yeah, yeah, Pearl Harbor.
[44:07.540 --> 44:08.900]  I'm sure you're around for Pearl Harbor, Rebel.
[44:09.420 --> 44:09.780]  Let's...
[44:10.280 --> 44:11.280]  He is right, though.
[44:11.320 --> 44:13.320]  The cell phones didn't work during Pearl Harbor.
[44:13.460 --> 44:14.780]  No, they didn't work during...
[44:14.780 --> 44:15.400]  Here's...
[44:15.400 --> 44:16.800]  Okay, he does touch upon a point here.
[44:16.940 --> 44:19.180]  And again, our phone number is 347.
[44:19.340 --> 44:20.680]  And it only is going to work for our show, by the way.
[44:20.820 --> 44:22.140]  So don't write down a call again.
[44:22.680 --> 44:25.280]  Uh, 347-948-8783.
[44:25.700 --> 44:31.700]  We, uh, those of you who have been wanting to talk on the air for the last, uh, almost month, uh, please call us.
[44:32.000 --> 44:34.440]  Um, but the cell phones were the first thing to go down.
[44:34.440 --> 44:35.500]  And so many people...
[44:35.500 --> 44:36.840]  We've been talking about this for ages.
[44:37.480 --> 44:38.040]  Landlines, folks.
[44:38.260 --> 44:38.760]  Landlines work.
[44:38.860 --> 44:41.620]  I know they didn't work everywhere, and downtown Manhattan is a good example of that.
[44:41.740 --> 44:45.340]  But out by me, landlines are the one thing that stayed up, and they were a godsend.
[44:45.340 --> 44:46.260]  Okay, hello.
[44:46.440 --> 44:47.060]  You are on the air.
[44:48.080 --> 44:48.880]  Hi, guys.
[44:49.320 --> 44:49.580]  Hi.
[44:49.640 --> 44:50.160]  Where are you calling from?
[44:50.940 --> 44:55.570]  Go to, uh, WFMU.
[44:55.690 --> 44:57.670]  We couldn't get you on the air over here anymore.
[44:57.910 --> 44:58.310]  I don't...
[44:58.310 --> 44:58.690]  Isn't...
[44:58.690 --> 45:00.850]  Isn't there a 90.1 repeater up there?
[45:01.210 --> 45:01.650]  Somewhere?
[45:02.130 --> 45:03.090]  For WF...
[45:03.090 --> 45:04.890]  I think so, and that's...
[45:04.890 --> 45:06.290]  Uh, I don't know where it is.
[45:06.430 --> 45:07.690]  Okay, well, uh, that's...
[45:07.690 --> 45:17.930]  I don't think we get it up here this far north, but we do get WBAI, and it really is a tragedy that, uh, that BAI could not accommodate so many producers.
[45:18.350 --> 45:33.010]  As someone, uh, who is a subscriber, and much more than a subscriber, uh, to BAI, uh, it just amazed me that, uh, there wasn't any better planning.
[45:33.090 --> 45:42.990]  Or certainly any more openness to the sort of, uh, uh, combined efforts that all of the activist producers could have done.
[45:43.190 --> 45:59.610]  It's, it's reflective of everything that's done with the management of WBAI, and it pains all of us who, who believe and love in WBAI, and it's been a part of our lives forever, uh, uh, to, to have to, to have to acknowledge that.
[45:59.890 --> 46:00.190]  Mm-hmm.
[46:00.430 --> 46:00.650]  Yeah.
[46:00.910 --> 46:02.470]  I, I hear everything you're saying.
[46:02.470 --> 46:08.710]  It's just that, at some point, we have to realize that we're stagnating, and we need to move forward.
[46:08.830 --> 46:17.590]  We need to be able to expand to do more, and when we're constantly, uh, quelled like this, it just, it, it makes us feel unhealthy, and that we're not doing enough.
[46:17.710 --> 46:27.310]  So wherever it is that we do wind up, if something improves dramatically here, and I, I honestly don't know how that can happen, because I've heard promises, oh, yeah, that won't happen again, and it just keeps happening again.
[46:32.470 --> 46:46.010]  We shut out other people that aren't in the inner circle, or whatever, um, you know, failing something really amazing that, uh, I still have yet to think of, we will continue someplace, somehow, to serve the community.
[46:46.190 --> 46:47.030]  That's what we're here for.
[46:47.250 --> 46:48.030]  That's what we want to do.
[46:48.110 --> 46:50.750]  That's what we wanted to do for the last, uh, three, four weeks.
[46:50.750 --> 46:52.550]  Uh, so you have that promise.
[46:52.770 --> 46:53.870]  Well, I think just because B.A.R.
[46:56.730 --> 47:07.770]  and WFMUs, and I know in the, in the area of the WFMU serves, uh, it's, it's a great radio station, and it has, uh, great service, but B.A.R.
[47:08.330 --> 47:27.650]  is a full, in, in the broadcast industry, it's a full class B, it's 50,000 watts, and a college station like WFMU, uh, just is not going to be able to have that kind of reach, and I think my only advice would be to be a little bit like Rodney Dagerfield,
[47:27.890 --> 47:29.490]  and, uh, tussle your time.
[47:32.350 --> 47:32.590]  You respect.
[47:32.870 --> 47:44.550]  Okay, thanks, thanks for that call, uh, and we're opening it up again, uh, to anybody else that wants to call in, but, uh, yeah, I, I hear everything, and we've been struggling with this, uh, for, for weeks now, and we have to ask ourselves, you know,
[47:44.610 --> 47:49.530]  four hours on a less powerful station, is that as good as one hour on a more powerful station?
[47:49.650 --> 47:58.470]  Things like that, you know, what can we serve more, and of course, the internet also makes a lot of things possible as well, so, I don't know, uh, a lot has yet to be decided.
[47:58.610 --> 47:59.050]  Do we have another call?
[47:59.190 --> 48:05.010]  We don't have another call yet, but, uh, I do want to thank everyone for bearing with us while we have things like call waiting beeps and things, uh, on the line.
[48:05.030 --> 48:11.830]  I think I know, I think I know what happened, uh, I, I, we were getting call waiting beeps just now, uh, and I hadn't disabled Google Voice because I didn't think it was working.
[48:11.930 --> 48:12.810]  I think it was working.
[48:12.850 --> 48:18.510]  I think some wiseacre was calling your regular line and making call waiting go off, uh, before when I had it disabled.
[48:18.570 --> 48:19.550]  That might have been what was going on.
[48:19.630 --> 48:20.870]  Well, I do know a few wiseacres.
[48:20.870 --> 48:21.390]  All right.
[48:22.010 --> 48:25.690]  347-948-8783 is our temporary number.
[48:25.810 --> 48:27.950]  That's only going to work for the next 10 minutes or so.
[48:28.050 --> 48:30.130]  If you want to be on the air, call us.
[48:30.290 --> 48:34.570]  If you're within... And please, if you're local, because people here really have been struggling.
[48:35.010 --> 48:37.370]  And I know you want to get your voices out there.
[48:37.550 --> 48:38.670]  And please only call once.
[48:39.270 --> 48:48.670]  And just tell us how you did in the storm and experiences that you might have had, any kind of technological angle to the whole thing, anything you just want to share with us.
[48:48.730 --> 48:49.130]  Do we have a call?
[48:49.610 --> 48:50.690]  We don't have a call yet.
[48:50.690 --> 48:50.930]  We don't have a call.
[48:50.970 --> 48:52.170]  It's forwarding on over there?
[48:52.230 --> 48:52.830]  Yeah, forwarding's on.
[48:52.910 --> 48:53.310]  I clicked it.
[48:53.390 --> 48:53.510]  Okay.
[48:53.610 --> 48:54.490]  Do I have to click something else?
[48:54.710 --> 48:55.490]  No, you shouldn't.
[48:56.470 --> 48:58.190]  347-948-8783.
[48:59.350 --> 49:00.630]  That sounds right.
[49:00.810 --> 49:01.010]  Okay.
[49:01.130 --> 49:02.990]  I mean, I'll call it myself to see if it actually works.
[49:03.270 --> 49:05.470]  347-948-8783.
[49:06.710 --> 49:07.390]  Give it a shot.
[49:07.470 --> 49:08.190]  See if you can get through.
[49:09.230 --> 49:10.850]  I'm calling it myself to see if it's working.
[49:11.250 --> 49:11.590]  Okay.
[49:12.230 --> 49:17.750]  Because, you know, sometimes these technological things... Now, I'm getting your voicemail.
[49:17.750 --> 49:18.370]  Okay.
[49:18.590 --> 49:20.970]  So now that's Google having a burp.
[49:21.150 --> 49:25.130]  Try refreshing the page over there and making sure that thing is doing its thing.
[49:25.130 --> 49:25.130]  Okay.
[49:25.130 --> 49:26.230]  It says change is saved.
[49:26.310 --> 49:26.850]  Change is saved.
[49:27.510 --> 49:29.310]  So we're dependent on Google right now.
[49:29.350 --> 49:30.730]  You know, we knew it was going to come to this.
[49:30.810 --> 49:33.230]  We knew at some point Google was going to have the final say.
[49:34.650 --> 49:35.010]  Okay.
[49:35.110 --> 49:35.450]  At some point.
[49:35.970 --> 49:36.230]  Okay.
[49:36.410 --> 49:38.510]  Again, the phone number, do you have it offhand?
[49:38.770 --> 49:39.130]  347?
[49:40.350 --> 49:42.570]  347-948-8783.
[49:42.930 --> 49:43.090]  Okay.
[49:43.090 --> 49:43.170]  Okay.
[49:43.990 --> 49:49.590]  And for those of you listening on podcasts or otherwise after the fact, that's just my random boring voicemail that won't go anywhere.
[49:51.010 --> 49:52.090]  I don't think it's working.
[49:52.350 --> 49:56.150]  I think Google Voice is... I'll try it.
[49:56.170 --> 49:57.010]  I'll call it again.
[49:57.250 --> 49:57.730]  Hold on.
[49:59.130 --> 50:00.650]  Is Google Voice failing us?
[50:01.290 --> 50:01.790]  Come on.
[50:01.810 --> 50:02.290]  It's the cloud.
[50:02.550 --> 50:03.530]  People like the cloud.
[50:04.490 --> 50:05.050]  It's ringing.
[50:05.410 --> 50:06.290]  Is your phone ringing?
[50:06.430 --> 50:07.410]  Is it my number coming up?
[50:08.190 --> 50:09.470]  Or... It's not ringing yet.
[50:10.630 --> 50:11.590]  It's going to your voicemail.
[50:11.610 --> 50:12.210]  I have to one ring.
[50:12.530 --> 50:12.750]  Huh.
[50:13.570 --> 50:13.930]  Okay.
[50:14.070 --> 50:16.550]  Thank you, Google Voice, for letting us down when we need you.
[50:18.510 --> 50:20.830]  It's, you know, it's not much to ask for, to simply...
[50:20.830 --> 50:28.230]  We did get in a couple of more calls than we would have gotten had we just depended on what's working right now here at the station.
[50:29.250 --> 50:31.250]  I'm going to just reload the page a few times.
[50:31.630 --> 50:33.350]  And can you banter for a moment?
[50:33.530 --> 50:34.970]  I can banter for a moment.
[50:34.970 --> 50:43.490]  Um, also, yeah, we, we just, uh, we can't thank you enough for all the outpourings of support and things that, uh, that, uh, that we've gotten from our listeners.
[50:43.570 --> 50:57.610]  And, uh, if you've supported, uh, one thing that, uh, one small update that I have, um, a few weeks ago, uh, before we went off the air, we had a fundraiser and one of the premiums was a painting by me that, uh, was going to be a small five by seven painting on canvas.
[50:57.850 --> 51:02.770]  Well, uh, because of, uh, because I happened to get hold of some larger canvases, those are now eight by tens.
[51:03.110 --> 51:10.850]  So those of you who pledged back then will be getting a larger painting than, than you pledged for, um, for no additional, uh, charge or anything like that.
[51:11.110 --> 51:15.230]  So, um, just, uh, just a small bonus and an extra thank you for supporting our show.
[51:15.410 --> 51:23.090]  And we, we really, we really appreciate all the outpourings of support that, uh, we've gotten, whether it be from fundraisers or whether it be from people responding to our open letter.
[51:23.090 --> 51:31.330]  And, uh, it's, it's just, uh, it's, it's re it's reassured us that, uh, that we've all been doing the right thing here, uh, making it.
[51:31.610 --> 51:42.850]  So, uh, if I think what we're demonstrating here tonight is that, uh, technology can be used and in very positive ways and, uh, it can be shaped in very, uh, unusual ways.
[51:43.070 --> 51:47.470]  Uh, but it's not always going to work and we have to, we have to figure out ways around that.
[51:47.730 --> 51:57.090]  And, uh, right now it's not working right now for some reason, for some reason, Google voice has, maybe we violated some terms of service by forwarding and unforwarding and having so many people call in.
[51:57.250 --> 51:57.770]  I don't know.
[51:57.970 --> 52:03.010]  Maybe, um, this is, this is definitely an example of using technology in ways that it probably wasn't intended for.
[52:03.170 --> 52:09.270]  How about you hand me the phone and you go over here to the computer and, uh, and, and maybe, uh, toggle things.
[52:09.610 --> 52:11.530]  Just tell me what button do I hit to pick up the call?
[52:11.610 --> 52:13.170]  Cause I don't understand these phones.
[52:14.290 --> 52:14.650]  Okay.
[52:14.890 --> 52:16.070]  Uh, it'll, it'll show up on the screen.
[52:16.170 --> 52:18.510]  Uh, we have gotten so many letters from people.
[52:18.550 --> 52:21.950]  In fact, I, I brought in letters thinking that maybe I'd read a couple of them.
[52:22.470 --> 52:24.490]  There are pages and pages of them.
[52:24.910 --> 52:32.130]  Um, and, uh, you can write to us too at OTH at 2600.com with, um, uh, with your, um, thoughts and feelings.
[52:32.350 --> 52:35.610]  Uh, but here's, here's, uh, just one of so many examples.
[52:35.970 --> 52:37.910]  Um, I just read the off the hook open letter.
[52:38.050 --> 52:39.290]  I, I myself did not live in New York.
[52:39.390 --> 52:42.550]  I listened to your show in podcast form, but I've always enjoyed what you have to say.
[52:42.910 --> 52:47.650]  Uh, from what I read it, it doesn't sound so much like you failed, but more like the people around you have failed.
[52:48.290 --> 52:52.730]  Um, basically, uh, the fact that the station wouldn't open their doors just, uh, seems absurd.
[52:52.950 --> 52:55.390]  I'm hoping off the hook, um, are we all getting a call?
[52:55.470 --> 52:57.230]  Hopefully off the hook finds, uh, finds a home.
[52:57.470 --> 52:59.570]  And, uh, thank you, uh, Jared for that letter.
[52:59.690 --> 53:03.790]  And thank you so many other people, uh, for, for the letters that you sent us.
[53:03.870 --> 53:04.950]  And now we have a phone call.
[53:05.030 --> 53:05.350]  Good evening.
[53:05.510 --> 53:06.230]  You are on off the hook.
[53:06.310 --> 53:06.810]  Where are you calling from?
[53:08.550 --> 53:09.170]  Speak up please.
[53:09.250 --> 53:10.930]  Uh, you hit the buttons.
[53:11.030 --> 53:12.050]  I, I hate these phones.
[53:13.070 --> 53:13.910]  Touching the touch screen.
[53:13.910 --> 53:14.230]  Hello.
[53:14.610 --> 53:14.930]  Okay.
[53:14.990 --> 53:15.610]  You're on the air now.
[53:17.230 --> 53:18.030]  Where are you calling from?
[53:19.270 --> 53:19.590]  Okay.
[53:19.590 --> 53:20.270]  There's somebody else.
[53:20.370 --> 53:21.270]  Pick up that person then.
[53:22.210 --> 53:23.170]  No, uh, we lost them.
[53:23.270 --> 53:23.730]  We lost them.
[53:23.790 --> 53:23.950]  Okay.
[53:24.290 --> 53:25.670]  Apparently the phone is working now.
[53:25.790 --> 53:25.790]  Okay.
[53:25.790 --> 53:28.550]  The phone is working now and it'll keep working for another, uh, five minutes or so.
[53:28.690 --> 53:33.330]  And the number is, uh, three, four, seven, nine, four, eight, eight, seven, eight, three.
[53:33.930 --> 53:36.330]  And, uh, apparently that will, uh, that will work sometime.
[53:36.530 --> 53:39.290]  Unless that was somebody calling you out of the line, uh, and getting through the same number.
[53:39.450 --> 53:40.490]  That was somebody calling through Google.
[53:40.690 --> 53:40.870]  Okay.
[53:40.890 --> 53:41.430]  How could you tell?
[53:42.010 --> 53:47.810]  Because it wasn't, uh, it wasn't a number that I recognize and... You never have people that you don't recognize call you.
[53:47.890 --> 53:49.850]  I don't give people I don't recognize my cell number.
[53:49.890 --> 53:51.190]  Yeah, but they still figure it out anyway.
[53:52.410 --> 53:59.210]  So yeah, if you're out there, please call us because this might be the only chance you get to call in until our phones come back online.
[53:59.970 --> 54:02.910]  And that is a sobering thing.
[54:02.910 --> 54:05.070]  Our phones don't work and they're important.
[54:05.230 --> 54:06.810]  They're important any place, any office.
[54:07.010 --> 54:10.270]  And this whole region of town is devastated.
[54:10.270 --> 54:11.190]  It really is.
[54:11.390 --> 54:13.910]  Not having phones, not having power in so many places.
[54:14.390 --> 54:15.990]  It's unusual.
[54:16.250 --> 54:16.910]  It's unprecedented.
[54:17.230 --> 54:18.470]  And it really is unprecedented.
[54:18.770 --> 54:25.630]  And another way tech has been used to great effect was just spreading the word about things that were going on during this whole storm.
[54:25.830 --> 54:32.510]  The MTA has a Flickr page and a YouTube and they've been posting video and pictures of the devastation they've been dealing with.
[54:32.650 --> 54:37.010]  And as a transit geek, that was it was very eye opening to see those.
[54:37.250 --> 54:39.210]  I highly recommend checking it out if you're into it.
[54:39.330 --> 54:41.710]  I just called your number and it's not working again.
[54:41.910 --> 54:43.350]  Google Voice sucks.
[54:43.350 --> 54:43.670]  Okay.
[54:43.750 --> 54:44.130]  I'm sorry.
[54:44.230 --> 54:45.050]  I had to say that.
[54:45.170 --> 54:45.690]  And you know what?
[54:46.530 --> 54:54.170]  One thing, one thing I do want to say in great praise of WBAI is that you can say things like Google Voice sucks and there won't be any ramifications.
[54:54.350 --> 54:58.630]  You can say things like what I said before, you know, self-critical things about the station.
[54:58.870 --> 55:05.550]  And, you know, it's not only allowed, it's encouraged because we have to look at ourselves.
[55:05.790 --> 55:07.770]  We have to analyze things.
[55:07.930 --> 55:12.770]  And that's, you know, free speech is so important in times of crisis and just in everyday life.
[55:12.770 --> 55:14.050]  It's extremely important.
[55:15.510 --> 55:20.690]  Let's... I don't think we're going to get any more calls in because the technology is not working, but it did work.
[55:20.810 --> 55:26.030]  We were able to get through to certain people and some of us were able to talk to our listeners and that was good.
[55:26.170 --> 55:33.630]  And, you know, we will continue to help out whoever needs the help at the radio station to connect and make things better.
[55:33.630 --> 55:34.570]  We're, that's what we're here for.
[55:34.670 --> 55:35.570]  That's what we want to be able to do.
[55:36.810 --> 55:51.350]  So, final words on this, on this program, our first post-hurricane program, the day before Thanksgiving, I guess, never take anything for granted, you know, because it can change in a, in a snap of a finger.
[55:51.790 --> 56:05.670]  And, uh, there, there's so much that we are, are dependent on that we need to know how to exist without being dependent on, um, things like electricity, things like connectivity, things like, uh, gas guzzling vehicles, all kinds.
[56:05.810 --> 56:06.210]  Do we have a call?
[56:06.330 --> 56:07.190]  You want to try one more call?
[56:07.410 --> 56:07.630]  All right.
[56:07.630 --> 56:09.170]  It, uh, it looks like we might have one more call.
[56:09.170 --> 56:09.870]  Let's try one more call.
[56:09.950 --> 56:10.150]  Go ahead.
[56:10.810 --> 56:11.210]  Hello.
[56:11.510 --> 56:12.070]  You're on the air.
[56:13.410 --> 56:13.810]  Hello?
[56:27.020 --> 56:38.230]  Uh, you know, all this devastation, uh, and, uh, also about, uh, you know, how much people, you know, need and...
[56:38.230 --> 56:40.290]  I, I hate to rush you, but we've only got a couple of minutes left.
[56:40.430 --> 56:41.230]  No, we've got a couple of seconds.
[56:41.230 --> 56:42.170]  We've got a couple of seconds left.
[56:42.170 --> 56:43.490]  We've got a couple of seconds left.
[56:46.420 --> 56:48.160]  Uh, a copy of our show?
[56:49.560 --> 56:51.080]  I, I think he has a CD to send us.
[56:52.660 --> 56:53.800]  What, what is it you want to send?
[56:56.200 --> 56:56.480]  Okay.
[56:56.760 --> 56:57.840]  Unfortunately, we lost him, I think.
[56:58.200 --> 57:00.200]  Uh, yeah, it's, it's just, we just don't have enough time.
[57:03.080 --> 57:04.040]  Time to do the things we want to do.
[57:04.140 --> 57:05.800]  There are so many aspects to this.
[57:05.920 --> 57:08.580]  So many people we want to interview and, and, uh, share information.
[57:08.740 --> 57:11.160]  But, you know, our hour is up and another hour comes up now.
[57:11.360 --> 57:12.200]  A personal computer show.
[57:12.540 --> 57:18.180]  Uh, they're going to tackle this, uh, this crisis in a whole different way and, and share all kinds of interesting stories as well.
[57:18.240 --> 57:20.160]  They've been affected too, as, as we all have been.
[57:20.320 --> 57:20.520]  Okay.
[57:20.580 --> 57:21.780]  And one last thank you to all our listeners.
[57:21.960 --> 57:24.080]  You know, we, we will, uh, keep doing what we're doing.
[57:24.220 --> 57:26.480]  Uh, one way or another, you will be hearing more from us.
[57:26.740 --> 57:27.060]  Absolutely.
[57:28.220 --> 57:31.860]  And, uh, words of encouragement from one city to another.
[57:31.860 --> 57:33.320]  Remember, New Yorkers, we're strong.
[57:33.480 --> 57:34.300]  We'll get through all this.
[57:34.600 --> 57:35.700]  Take care of each other.
[57:35.960 --> 57:37.000]  Look out for each other.
[57:37.200 --> 57:38.000]  Stay in contact.
[57:38.320 --> 57:39.040]  And write to us.
[57:39.140 --> 57:40.460]  OTH at 2600.com.
[57:40.640 --> 57:41.540]  Have a happy Thanksgiving.
[57:41.700 --> 57:41.860]  Good night.
[57:41.860 --> 57:44.500]  This city won't wash your way.
[57:45.320 --> 57:47.840]  This city won't ever drown.
[57:48.680 --> 57:51.560]  Blood and water and hair to pay.
[57:52.080 --> 57:55.480]  Sky tear open and paint rain down.
[57:56.400 --> 57:58.920]  Doesn't matter to come one May.
[57:59.620 --> 58:02.820]  I ain't ever gonna leave this town.
[58:03.440 --> 58:06.020]  This city won't wash your way.
[58:07.100 --> 58:09.300]  This city won't ever drown.
[58:17.220 --> 58:20.480]  Ain't a river or the wind to blame.
[58:21.100 --> 58:24.080]  Cause everybody around here knows.
[58:24.760 --> 58:27.580]  Nothing on them back ponts or trains.
[58:28.140 --> 58:30.780]  Except for a prairie where no promises goes.
[58:31.680 --> 58:34.960]  We just count digging our graves.
[58:35.200 --> 58:38.300]  And silent marble above the ground.
[58:38.300 --> 58:41.180]  Baby, our bones will wash your way.
[58:41.940 --> 58:44.780]  But this city won't ever drown.
[59:13.900 --> 59:16.620]  This city won't ever die.
[59:17.300 --> 59:20.380]  Just as long as the heart be strong.
[59:21.380 --> 59:24.220]  Like a second line stepping high.
[59:24.700 --> 59:27.820]  Raising the elders roll along.
[59:27.820 --> 59:30.820]  Chantilly to ukulele.
[59:31.720 --> 59:32.400]  Chantilly to ukulele.
[59:32.400 --> 59:34.800]  Knowing our central city uptown.
[59:35.400 --> 59:37.580]  Singing Giacomo Pinani.
[59:38.600 --> 59:41.180]  This city won't ever drown.
[59:42.300 --> 59:45.300]  Doesn't matter cause there ain't no way.
[59:45.940 --> 59:48.940]  I'm ever gonna leave this town.
[59:49.560 --> 59:51.860]  This city won't wash your way.
[59:51.860 --> 59:55.500]  Like this city won't ever drown.
[01:00:13.890 --> 01:00:17.570]  You tune to WBAI in New York.
[01:00:17.910 --> 01:00:24.270]  WBAI.org Preceding program was brought to you live.
[01:00:24.450 --> 01:00:27.470]  Certain portions on recording.
[01:00:30.350 --> 01:00:34.270]  And we shall be sorry to see walk the hook go.
[01:00:34.590 --> 01:00:37.710]  But, but, but, but.
[01:00:38.590 --> 01:00:41.590]  We hear next a personal computer show.
[01:00:41.770 --> 01:00:42.370]  Please stay tuned.