John Batchelor has a genius for transporting his personality back in time and taking the listener along with him. Many commentators have tried to explain historic events in modern terms, but with Batchelor you're just there: a thoroughly modern person trying to figure out what's going on during your brief time travel, so you can report back.
Batchelor showed his genius again last night during his interview with James R. Gaines, author of For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions, which chronicles the friendship of generals Washington and Lafayette.
Batchelor's effort to get the dope on Lafayette got Gaines laughing -- and not just a titter for the benefit of the host but real laughter from surprise and delight -- and he got me laughing, the kind of laughter that starts in your chest and shakes your whole body.
When the station break plopped me from Batchelor's time capsule, I looked at big news events of today with a calmer mind and clearer eye.
And that's Batchelor's genius, which is actually impossible to describe to someone who's never heard him because there's never been anyone like John Batchelor in the electronic media.
None of the above speaks to John's analysis of the big news of the day, which has the same way of concentrating the mind as his time travel.
You can hear Batchelor and his guests analyze Iraq, Iran, and Washington politics, as well as the Gaines interview, on last night's Drudge Show via podcast from the Drudge radio archive.
Once you've heard the Gaines interview, I'm sure you'll join me (and John) in wishing Lafayette a very happy 250th birthday.
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