Apparently Brian "Saint Paul" Ward enjoyed his hiatus from duty in the Patriot bunker so much last week that he's decided to once again pull himself from the NARN First Team lineup for this week's show. You best tread carefully my friend. Enjoying too many weekends away from the studio and your unpaid radio gig can become habit forming.
But First Team fans need not fear. Even in Brian's absence, the show will go on. In fact, I will be returning to the airwaves this Saturday and joining John Hinderacker for a very special appearance as a guest host. We'll have plenty to catch up in the first hour what with the British election, the Kagan nomination, the Greek bailout, and the Canadians stunning upset of the Penguins in the news.
In the second hour, we'll be joined by Mary Eberstadt:
Mary Tedeschi Eberstadt is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and consulting editor to Policy Review, the Hoover Institution's bimonthly journal of essays and reviews on American politics and society.
Eberstadt focuses on issues on American society, culture, and philosophy. She has written widely for various magazines and newspapers, including Policy Review, the Weekly Standard, First Things, the American Spectator, Los Angeles Times, London Times, Newark Star-Ledger, and the Wall Street Journal.
She's also the author of a new book based on a series she originally composed for National Review called The Loser Letters: A Comic Tale of Life, Death, and Atheism. I'm about halfway through the book right now and have found it as good as advertised:
“As a Christian humorist, Mary Eberstadt is the rightful heir and assignee of C.S. Lewis, and her heroine in The Loser Letters is the legitimate child (or perhaps grandchild) of “the patient” in The Screwtape Letters.”
— P.J. O'Rourke, Author, Parliament of Whores
This is a wise, funny, and winning book.
— Michael Novak, author, No One Sees God
Mary Eberstadt is one smart cookie. If you don't believe me, ask Satan.
—George Weigel,author Cube and the Cathedral
"This book is a gem. Through letters of advice from A.F. Christian, an enthusiastic convert to the cause of the new atheists, Mary Eberstadt deftly exposes the flaws in their views. Using the lingo of pop culture to hilarious effect, she offers a scathing satire of their question-begging arguments and shows with great wit that they are not just wrongheaded but downright laughable. Yet this spirited defense of Christian faith is also a poignant commentary on what it means to be human."
—Fr. Peter Ryan, S.J., Professor of Moral Theology, Mt. St. Mary's Seminary
Eberstadt joins the growing list of authors such as Dinesh D'Souza, Vox Day, David Berlinski, and David Bentley Hart (among others), who have offered up compelling rebuttals to the aggressive atheism spouted by the likes of Dawkins, Hitchens, Dennett, Onfray, and Harris (among others) that has emerged in the last decade. However, her satirical work stands out for it's unique, accessible, and entertaining approach. When it comes to employing wicked wit and humor to devastating effect against the leading Brights of atheism, she's perhaps only matched by Vox Day.
Remember, The Northern Alliance Radio Network starts at 11AM Central, locally on AM1280 the Patriot. Streaming LIVE worldwide at the web site. Following the First Team as always at 1 PM, Mitch Berg and Ed Morrissey. You can join the conversation at 651-289-4488. And, don't forget at 9 AM, The King Banaian Show over at the Patriot's sister station, KYRC (Business 1570).
