It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Nicole, thank you for your very kind introduction. Yep, I'm here. You know me. Morgan White Junior. Been a part of BZ since Good Grief nineteen ninety five or ninety six, and I've put together I think a strong night side show for this August first and NICOLEI you is still there? Oh oh good, Nicole. I would like to introduce you to a gentleman.
All okay, Joys a live radio huh okay, there you go.
I would like to introduce you to a gentleman who's been a friend of mine for decades. He has written a book about the dean of talk hosts, Jerry Williams. We all know that name, remember that name, and the book was called Burning Up the Air with Steve Elfman. They wrote it together, and he is going to be my guest for the first hour. So Alan, I want to introduce you to Nicole. And Nicole. I want to introduce you to Alan. How are you?
You know better now that I get to meet you, And thank you so much for the introduction. Morgan.
Oh nice, see you, Ca and Nicole. I'm looking forward to working with you obviously now, but I'll be back on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Oh, We're going to have fun. I love that.
We are going to do the best we can. And I've got a lot of interesting guests slated to be on with me. And I'm going to make a promise, and Nicole, you and Rob have to hold me to this.
Okay, I'm looking at Rob. We're going to do this, all right, what's up?
People have said, with some consistency that I have the same old guests on. I've had allan on a number of times over the years.
Consistency is a good thing, though.
But I was taught that by David Brudnoy, who had me on in a regular rotation. But to combat that, I promise they have at least one guest a night side that I've never had before. Okay, And that's going to be the case tonight in the four shows next week. But you've got to hold me to that, Okay.
If I if I see anything that looks amiss, I will be sure to let you know.
And on that note, I will let you go away.
When news people go off into the into the void where the newspeople go until where needed. Thank you, no problem, have a good show, Thank you very much.
And Alan, how the heck are you?
Well?
I'm well, how about you?
All right? And this is not a slow news day. Over the past past twenty four hours, there have been some major news stories. And you know, I remember a statement made by Donald Trump, and this is prior to the Pennsylvania incident, but he said I will get Paul Wheeling back home within a month of me being elected.
Sure he will. He can't say that anymore, No, he cannot.
He cannot say that because go ahead.
There are a lot of people out there in what I would call Trump World, because I think we have two different and two different worlds out there. There's a a normal world in the Trump world. Yes, And those people out there in Trump World were really uh, you know, they're kind of said, well, Joe Biden can't do this job anymore if you can't run, if you can't run for reelection, and we have to get him out that office, by God, because he can't do anything. Well, he just
negotiated with seven different countries over an extended period of time. Yes, one of the greatest prisoner swaps in the past forty years.
And you get you give credit where credit is due to have all those different countries, municipalities, heads of state, seven different countries were involved and freeing all of these people. Some of them were Russians, some of them were in Russian jails put thereby Putin and the rest of the poltariat. And the fact that Americans are held against their will anywhere on the planet but here in the United States
is a sin. And it wasn't without his efforts. He being President Joe Biden, who get this accomplished.
Shane on the same evening that he spoke to the nation, made the decision to pass the torch. He was working on this during that day, right that same day.
And there are people out there. You can say negative things because as Americans that you're right say positive or negative things. But the proof is in the pudding, yep, what you see as a finished product. What was accomplished today. And I should have asked Nicole this. I'll ask Rob. The landing of the plane will be the eleven thirty tonight. I know that is a soft time, but we WBZ gonna carry that. I know there'll be a press conference right there at the airfield with the landing. Okay, Rob
just whispered, he does not think that's happening. So forget that. But here's what I'm doing tonight here on Nightside, what I have planned to do and I'm still going to do. I'm going to ask you, the Night Side listeners, to call in six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty
or eight eight, eight, nine to nine, ten thirty. Call in and tell me in the twenty first century, from the year two thousand to now, roughly that twenty four year period, if at one point you were a member of ex party Republican or Democrat or independent, and you have changed your affiliation, I want you to call and tell me why.
So.
You were a Democrat and you've decided I don't want to be a Democrat anymore. I want to be a Republican. You were a Republican and you decided I don't want to be Republican anymore. I want to be an independent. However your change occurred, call in and tell Allan and I what you personally did to make that change. Separate of that, how do you feel knowing that the people who were in a Russian jail, a Russian penitentiary, wherever they kept you, you're now getting a chance to finally
get your feet back on American soil. That's the news story of the day. If you want to call in, you know the phone numbers, and we'll do this up until nine o'clock. Nine o'clock. Have something else, something special planned for you, but let me take my break. Time and temperature here on WBZ eight fifteen eighty eight degrees.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nice Sight Studios on WBZ News Radio.
There is off for the whole week, for the rest of this week, tonight and tomorrow and all next week. I will be here obviously for tonight. Gary Tangway will be here tomorrow, and I'll be here all next week Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, except for Tuesday. Of a prior commitment on Tuesday evening. Some of you know about that, and I do believe. No, I don't want I don't want to speculate. I know a name that was mentioned, but it's not confirmed. I'll know more on Monday who will
be doing Tuesday's night side. But if you want to call in, a is a line open for you. Six one, seven, two, five, fourteen, thirty eight, eight, eight, nine to nine, ten, thirty. Let's go to Harol and speak to Michael. So, Michael, I put two questions out there, how are you good?
Thanks for taking Michell?
Yes, Michael.
What I hope doesn't happen, but I think will happen, is that the situation will be made into a political statement.
Guaranteed.
Hello, are you?
I said guaranteed? Yes.
Yeah.
Well that's that's where all our political leaders get it wrong. They should just be happy, gratify these people are back, yes, and simply not make it into a particle issue. I don't know, I haven't seen the latest nerves of the latest tweets, but I expect Donald Trump to say something like if it wasn't for me, if I hadn't done this, if it wasn't for me, if I hadn't done this, this wouldn't happen. And it's just the wrong way to go. And the same we'll go for democrats to not make
it a political statement. That's what's just, you know, comming the country. It's haunting the national psychology, it's turning people against each other, and just be happy these people are back. It can held against their will on Trump up stooping charges of nonsense and the Russians used it for political gain. They wanted to get back their people. And there you have it. So let me know your thoughts about the political uh ramifications and how each political time and it's
current leaders. I've got to try and take credit for this and intent they want to do it.
Now, Michael, before we wave goodbye to you, have you changed your party affiliation over the past twenty four or so years.
Well, I'd like to say to people, I quote Bill Lee, do you remember believe the left handle for the number number?
Still?
Bill?
But you said I linded here once, I'm so fon of the left, I'm right, and I laughed. Well, I kind of take his philosophy. I'm so fond of the left. I'm right. So that's about all I can tell you. No, I haven't changed my political leanings. If anything, I think of myself as an ultra.
Libertarian David Brednoy.
So that's where I lived, an ultra libertarian world, all right, as well, we are living in the twilight zone in America these days politically, then it.
Michael, thank you for making your call. All right again, if you want to call in, I'll repeat the question. Yes, you can talk about the release of hostages today from Russia as well. If you were into representing Party A whichever, and you've changed, you decided for whatever reason to turn your back on Party A and jump over to Party B.
There are three choices, Republican, Democrat, or Independent. I want to know if you aligned yourself with one of those parties but you felt that for whatever reason, they were falling short and you decided to switch, give me a call, Give us a call. Alan Toles is here. And for those of you who fondly remember Jerry Williams, the dean of talk shows back in the day sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, give us a call here on night Side.
Pete in Boston, thank you for holding your next on Nightside. Hello Pete, Oh Pete? All right, Well Pete call back? So Allan only because you knew Jerry Williams so well, Hm, what would you think Jerry's opinion of the hostage A being taken and be finally being released.
Well, you know, I can't really speak for Jerry obviously, but having known him on the air and having watched this play out at another time, because when I first met and worked with Jerryott was in Philadelphia, and we had four hundred and thirty five hostages in Iran in eighty and every day the drum beat was we have to bring our people home, we have to bring our people home.
And it took four days to accomplish that.
That's true, and because at that time Jimmy Carter was unable to do that, Jerry's position was abc anybody but Carter. And so when he saw what the choices were, the choices were Ronald Reagan and an independence John Anderson. Yes, Jerry threw his support behind John Anderson. He just couldn't bring himself to come over to that Republican dark side, so to speak. And John Andrews, since the time was
not it wasn't exactly a ross throw independent race. But John Anderson got a respectable number of of votes, a good percentage. And ron Reagan became the President of the United States and was probably one of the best presidents we've ever had.
Surprised a lot of people when we found out. And again, hindsight is being a Monday morning quarterback looking back over Reagan's eight years. Yeah, there was that hiccup with the Iran contra issue, but he was a great, not good great president.
Absolutely, and the world would be.
A little bit different because he, by his actions as president, made Russia look inward and realized that the arms race was being lost to the United States, and we prevailed. We the United States prevailed because of Ronald Reagan.
Absolutely. The other interesting thing about Reagan that I appreciated most was there were bipartisan efforts to get things done. Ronald Reagan famously would sit down with SIBONEO yes, over beer and say, let's work this out whatever this happened to be. And it wasn't my side against your side. It was what could we do? What can we do together that would help the American people? And I don't know if we're ever going to get back to.
That, unfortunately, that is a long way away from being a reality again.
But fast forward to where we are now. I want to be your caller. So if you're asking in the past twenty four years, what did you do well, I've lived in New Hampshire, so I've always been an independent. Okay, virtue of the fact that you can be and in each primary or in each election, you can change your affiliation back and forth to suit the way you want to vote. Well in certain Republican primaries, I wanted to vote,
and in certain Democrat primaries I wanted to vote. So while I've always been the independent, I bounced back and forth quite a bit. And in my lifetime, I've voted for Ronald Reagan, I've voted for George W. Bush, i voted for Barack Obama twice. And then twenty sixteen came along. Yeah, and I'm not sure if you've ever seen a Toyota commercial that's on the air now with the young lady talking to the woman from Toyota, and the woman from Toyota says, well, you wouldn't just trust anyone to help
you move, would you? Yeah?
Yeah, no, not again.
That's right, he says, no. You see the picture of the moving truck demolishing her stuff, and she says no, and so the other woman says, of course not and touch tones. She says not again, not again. Well, that's that's kind of where I am, or where I was in twenty sixteen. I was not a Hillary fan. I voted for Donald Trump. Twenty twenty as a year in my life, not because of my personal situation, but as a year in the life of an American was probably
the hardest and most miserable year in recent American history. Yeah, And what we needed was what we needed was a leader. What we needed was somebody to be reassuring. Instead, we had somebody who politicized the problem, COVID with being the problem, and it was. It was just horrible, and so now not again. It's kind of where I.
Am good analogy am. By the way, the voice you hear is Alan Toles, who is a producer for Jerry Williams. He and Steve Elfman, another producer for Jerry Williams, wrote a book called Burning Up the Air. The book is still out there. You can get your hands on it. It's a great read. I've got to take a break and when we come back, Pete and Newton, Susan and Worcester, and an open line is available for you here on Nightside, time and temperature eight thirty eighty eight degrees.
You're on Night's Side with Dan Ray on w b Z, Boston's news radio.
I'm Morgan White, Junior. Dan is off for the week, all right. I'm assuming he'll be back on August twelfth, But I'm here tonight and I'll be here four of the five days next week. Tonight, I'm joined by Alan Toles' First Hour, and here and I are talking a couple of major points. One the news story of the day all the hostages that were released by Russia. And if I'm not mistaken, it was a total of twenty twenty one different people. There were three or four names
that were primary and they are being released. And I'm going to say Evan Vershkovich wonderful pronounce yes, wonderful about pronouncing names like that. And Paul Wheeland w l A n.
Yep.
But he's also an Irish citizens, citizen of Ireland.
And I'm sure that means one of the politicals in Ireland had to be involved with ordinating the release.
Correct, Actually reading about this, it was really the German chancellor who stepped up big time and allowed somebody who was actually an assassin to be released, which let everything else flow.
The Russian assassin that we the United States have behind bars. Correct, Well, it got done, that's the important thing. Correct, it got done. And let's take a phone call. Let's go to Newton and speak to Pete. Pete, welcome to night Side.
Yeah, good evening, gentlemen. It's great news that the hostages of the prisoners have been released. It's great news. But what I really wanted to ask you was, I'm listening to you guys talk about different presidents and so forth. Can I ask you both? What grade on the universal grading system would you give President than Biden for the job that he's done? Well, how would you grade him for the job that he's done? I know you're both. I think you're both anti Trump, if I'm not mistaken, but.
Alan correct, Yep, Well, I am anti Trump and probably give Joe Biden. Well, it's a it's a it's a tough cause because I look at my four one K in my investments, and I don't see that he's been bad with the economy. I see that he's been a victim of the supply chain. I see that while spending causes some inflation, we're it's now getting back under control.
And so relative to the economy, you know, I gotta I gotta give an eighty, maybe even in eighty five in terms of being a leader, in terms of being presidential, that is somebody who you want respond for making allies around the world feel good about the United States. I got to give him a ninety five. I mean, he strengthened to NATO in a way that I personally didn't
think was possible. But given the war in Ukraine, given everything that's happening, he's actually helped strengthen our alliances there
in other domestic matters. You know, I think he's done a good job, not a great job, but a good job, a better job than I would have suspected his opponent would have done had he had the opportunity to do it again, just by virtue of being the person that comes in there under great duress, with some portions of the country thinking that he shouldn't even be there because
the election was stolen. He did a fabulous job in starting to do the things that's to ferry to help us position ourselves again in the world as a good nation.
I will be asked you a question, what about Afghanisty and the way that we exited Afghanistian and you.
Have man poorly. I think it costs lives. However, to be fair, and you have to be fair. That was that was a treaty in a sense that Trump negotiated prior to leaving that it would happen in that window, and so he had no choice but to say let's get out with no.
With no go ahead, I'm sorry, I'm going to answer your question.
I'll give you a one sentence answer.
Okay, Alan certainly has put a spin on the question. Uh. I would give him a complete failure myself. I think he's been a failure as a president. The deficit now was in the twenty five trillion dollar range, and I personally think we sent him.
Can you tell me who spent more money in a four year term? Donald Trump or Joe Biden?
They both spent money.
I don't have the fig Can you tell me who spent a lot more?
I believe that the well Biden wants to forgive student loans and all this other stuff, and that's kind a good thing. Well, I pay for my kids to go to college. Why should somebody else go for free?
You know, it's hard to argue in that point, but I feel that overall, taking the monkey off the back of people who were eighteen nineteen twenty twenty one signed up for thousands of dollars so they could go to Wieman, Mary or Harvard or usc Taking that monkey off their back that's been doing nothing but advertising and growing as a figure. I think it's a good thing me.
Personally, let me tell you that generation to buy houses, it is a good thing.
If you don't have the money to go to Boston University, then you go to a community college. Why should I pay full freight to somebody else? Get it from up them? And I personally think Biden has been a disgrace and embarrassment on the world stage. The way he presents himself, the way he expresses himself, He's an embarrassment.
All right, well, Pete, I think this is where we say we agree to disagree. But you have plenty of time to make your point. And on that note, enjoy your upcoming weekend. And I'm moving into the next caller. Thank you for your call. Pete. There goes Pete. Here comes Susan. Susan, you're next, your outside, Hi.
I just want to say, have people been under a rock for three and a half years. We were told Biden strong, he's brilliant, he's wonderful. They had to cover up from the media, Kamela Harris, the whole group had to work over time to cover up what he had. He's not even in charge. You don't even know he's alive. It's the people around him. I'm glad the hostages are here because what did they give up? Because when Democrats do this, they have to give up something like they
get to I ran i Comeline. It's ridiculous. And another thing, I'm hearing all these people about Trump going to the Black Quarters and all this crap. I think he did good. What Republicans would blank would do what Trump did? He got in there. He knew it was a setup, just by the first question they all had to talking for him. Trump can't get a break and that assassination attempt. Just look at the evidence they're covering up. They're all in on it from the ciav FBI of the deep state.
Was a set up.
They knew, an inside job and I'm gonna stick to it. They run them dead, They're gonna try again. He's written from them. And then how they were treated? Right, all these talking what's the way he's cheated? Trump? Trying to get him in jail for what? All these bombs dodges. He should be in jail. Bum dirt bag family of.
His vans too?
Do you like him? I love them? Answer?
I ask you a question about Camilla her she had Wallas poll numbers. No one liked her, But all of a sudden, she's a and a skirt. Give me a break, it's.
All yeah, yeah, I know you are old tag.
She's an old pag and she's trying to be the top woman.
Hey, you know what like career Tucker.
Cuffin commnding, you wouldn't she being afraid of Tucker Dolson?
But do you think that Trump is going to debate her? Do you think so? I'm kind of curious. Do you think he's gonna come out and debater and Peter and just really crush her?
Is she the president yet?
No, but she's running for the office.
And yeah it's not cool she was installed.
Okay, all right, all right, but but Susan, that's not the question. Every four years we have a debate between the Republican and the Democrat who wants to live at sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue?
Right?
Are we not going to do it this year? Because Donald Trump doesn't want to debate her.
He's going to debate if he can go into that jungle room, he can go anywhere. No other Republicans.
What kind of jungle are you talking about?
Alrighty, Jule, Okay, with all these rating awards in the press against Trump.
It was a up Okay, all right, Susan, you're not repeating yourself. You've gotten your point.
Across I know is a bony briudse. She swapped away to the top with Lily Brown. That's how she could always gig say.
I'd like to do that, Susan.
Who have a pleasant evening. Good night to you, Susan, Thank you, Oh dear, I'm gonna love your break. I'm going to try to get our last two callers on after the break, So David in San Francisco and Aaron and Wooster, you'll get your chance to chat about all these things. It's funny how neither one of those subjects fit into white. Susan called in.
Of course not.
I've been doing talk radio for just too many years. Anyway, Time and temperature here eight forty six eighty eight degrees of night side.
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World night Side Studios on w b Z Radio.
We have three people on hold. When do the best I can to get all three of you in, beginning with David in San Francisco. Good evening, David, webon nights dit Hello.
Old friend, Oh Morgan, long time I was talked to. Yeah, I didn't know since uh, nineteen sixty seven, and mostly have voted for Democrats, okay, because I did not like the Republican big business party. But all right, in two thousand and two thousand and four, I didnt vote for Ralph Nader, Okay, I guess Al Gore and George W. Bush, but uh, for the most part, yeah, uh. And a couple of things here, Morgan, I'm going to thank you for sharing up Pittball trivia of the Pitball Wizard. Tommy's
last day was Walker. Yeah, that's that's my last day.
Oh okay.
Yeah. Also a quick question is, then, are hostage crisis do you remember what day three hundred and sixty five was.
I'm going to guess because it took four hundred and forty four days, that figures locked in my mind. But I'm going to guess three sixty five was the attempt by Jimmy Carter.
To exactly that's the day Allay was elected?
Right yep?
Yeah? Is that weird to tell?
Uh?
They might have had a foresight of the election day the year before.
And they did not weird and they did not want to release the hostages until Yeah, the election took right the election one, but the exchange of power always takes place the third of January. And I want to make sure that when the hostages were released, Jimmy Carter was out of office. Yeah.
Well, you know what I heard that a rescue mission in the desert was a zaga fail.
I don't know, you know, it's like the Bay of Pigs in nineteen sixty or sixty one.
Yeah, there you go, the best way of plans.
So what do you have to say about the hostages that were finally released from Russia today?
I think it's great. And whoever put that together was it should be saluted.
I think it was a collaboration of a lot of fingers in the pie. Yeah.
Yeah, that's a big global political mooove. We'll ever put that together?
Was?
It has to be uh commented highly? All right, Warrian. I want to think you were taking.
My call, David, and when I think you been making it.
How about trivia question?
Okay, who's the only person presidential question?
Just for you?
The only person who was president of the United States but never elected? On the news? Very good?
Who is the only president that was a licensed park center?
Oh? Man, I'll say Truman.
I've heard of before. Actually was Abraham Lincoln.
Oh, okay, he did everything. Adam Lawyer wrestler, he did everything, all right, David, Let me get the other people on. Thank you, go go go.
Thank you borgon for taking a call.
You're very welcome back by. Let's go to Aaron and Worcester. Aaron, you're next on night Side. Welcome aboard, Hi, thank you for having me on.
Yes, sir, I noticed that one of the previous callers asked you what you thought about Biden's performance. You said he did well on the economy.
If I'm not mistaken, gave specifically that. I just said a one sentence answer. I'll give him a bright.
Well.
Allen said that he was doing well in the economy because of what he saw in his four oh one
k and in his investments. What about the people who don't have four oh one ks and investments, who are struggling to pay their rent every month, who can't afford health care in the richest country on earth, And the fact that this has been happening under Biden, under Obama, under Trump and under Bush and all these presidents say that they're going to help poor people, but they really turn around and don't do anything for them.
That's truth.
What are your thoughts on that?
I can't argue here. I think that America is only as strong as its tweakest link, and I think we fail in trying to help folks at that level that need that kind of help.
And of the fourth presidents you named, two were Republicans and two were Democrat, So.
Right, if you think about it, though, right, Donald Trump gave a nice, big fat tax break to people on the upper end with little or no regard people at the bottom. Barack Obama gave us some well they'd like to call it Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, which was one of the great things that happened over the past twenty years or so. So you know, some things could happen, not many, not many, and I wish.
Yeah, I agree with you, there weren't enough things, right. You also said that Biden did a good job. You also said that Biden did a good job because he strengthened our alliances. What about strengthening our relationships with our enemies like Russia and China so we don't have World War three? What do you think about that? In my regard that it seems like he made the situation worse.
Instead of working to actually cut a deal in Ukraine so more Ukrainians don't have to get killed, instead he keeps on giving him more and more money, whatever the heck that they ask for. We have a president who is not who is not engaging properly with the two other major world powers, Russia and China. He is putting us more on edge with them. Look at what he's doing to TikTok.
Look at what he.
Did with this war in Ukraine. We interviewed in Ukraine ten years ago with Yanikovich was overthrown in the Maidan and if you actually look at the state with the State Department had to say about that, there was a secret phone call between Victoria and Newlands and one of the other members of the State Department that sought to think about who they were going to replace when Yanikovich was overthrown in a democratically elected election ten years ago.
Because we have to stick our business and absolutely everything and everything has to be a competition, whether than everye of us all working together.
Obviously, you are well educated and you've got your facts and you've got a chance to share them with thirty eight states. I want to say goodbye to you, to give one more call or a chance to do what you just did. So Aaron, thank you, Alex and Natick you got about a minute best I can do.
Gentlemen, thank you for having me. I really appreciate the chance just to chime in. You know, I don't have a question so much as a comment. And then just maybe you want to maybe get your guys's thought, you know about that.
Oh great, he's got phone in trouble, Alex, can you hear me say it again?
We can't? All right, So you know, comments like Susan's coming in onto your show, referring to a room full of black reporters as as in the jungle, a jungle jungle. Yeah, you know, I just I don't get it wrong. Sometimes I'm frightened about where we're going and whatnot. But but what's your take on on folks like that that are? You know, they're on both sides of the.
Aisle, and you know what so far, Alex, let me answer you a question because I've got to let you go. You're not going to change their minds. It's like it's like Donald Trump when he said Vice President Harris's part Indian as far as he's concerned. When they open their mouth and insert their moccasins, what they say tells you all you need to know. For me to tell Susan that's just an incorrect statement on your part, it won't do any good. And Alan, I want to give you
time fifteen seconds. Plug the book, go well.
I wrote a book with my friend Steve Ellman called Burning Up the Air. Terry Williams and I knew each other for a good long time. Steve knew Jerry very well as well, and we wrote what was the definitive biography. So if you remember Jerry, you want to learn about him, want to know about him, find Burning Up the Air.
Alan Toles, thank you very much, everybody, Next Hour. Former TV personality Aaron Murphy from Bewitched here on night Side