Ed is still doing great progressive talk radio.  Check here for the Fallon Forum weekly broadcast schedule each and every Monday.  

Dear Friends,

It’s been one month since we switched to a strictly online program, and things are going well. (Note: The Fallon Forum airs live at www.fallonforum.com or WRLD.TV from 12:00-1:00, Monday-Friday. Podcasts available, too.) The show saw over 20,000 viewings in April! That’s a fantastic start, and as my coworkers and I (ok, mostly my coworkers) hammer out the technical glitches, we hope to make it easier for more of you to participate.

For me, the biggest adjustment is having to sit in front of a camera and not look like a dork. Radio is so much kinder to us dorks. (Bradshaw, you’re a dork, too, in case there was any doubt.) No more ratty t-shirts. No more cryptic hand signals with the producer. The time-honored habit of excessive nose scratching has gone the way of hitchhiking and soda fountains.

Yet my inner-Luddite soldiers on in this brave new technical world that, truly, holds so much promise. With the “public” airwaves increasingly dominated by the twin dark lords – Clear Channel and Cumulus – online broadcasting remains one of the few alternatives to traditional radio.

The video component of this program is exciting for two reasons: (1) so the audience can better visualize an issue, and (2) as a new way for me to embarrass myself, e.g. . . .

Monday, I’ll share a brief photo collage of my recent “shopping” excursion to Jordan Creek Mall. Then Dr. Charles Goldman and I discuss Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s new bromance, which has blossomed over their agreement on how to turn Medicare into a voucher program. But health-care expert Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is also on board with Romney and Ryan, forming a disturbing bipartisan menage a trois. Charles and I examine what Medicare would look like under this plan, and we discuss the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act.

Tuesday, Stu Anderson of the Iowa Department of Transportation talks about the future of transportation planning. Americans are driving less while biking, busing and walking more. And with fuel-efficient vehicles becoming increasingly common, how will policy-makers respond to the accompanying decline in fuel-tax collections? My 1985 Schwinn Varsity also joins us for this conversation.

Wednesday, we’re all over the board:

(1) Computer ergonomics. Seriously, with millions of hands suffering due to conventional computer usage, we’ve got a lot to learn about this subject. There’s plenty of money to be made, too. Doubt me? Explain the “Dragon Speak” billboard behind home plate at Fenway Park, arguably one of the most prime pieces of advertising real estate in the country.

(2) Burger King goes cage free. Talk about huge! I’ll bet millions of chickens clucked for joy when they read that story. And what does Agribusiness (aka, Farm Bureau) have to say about it?

(3) Bill Hamilton talks about fluoride. Hey, my teeth are virtually cavity-free because of it (thanks, Mom). But it seems there’s a nefarious side to fluoride, too. Mom, this segment of the program’s for you.

Thursday, State Rep Dan Kelley (D-Newton) joins us. Dan looks into his crystal ball to tell us whether the legislative session will end in May, June, July, next fall or after Jesus returns.

Friday, it’s more variety:

(1) Wal-Mart recently found itself in all sorts of trouble for allegedly bribing Mexican officials.

(2) It’s not just us Occupy types who want to break up big banks. In Des Moines last week, FDIC director Thomas Hoenig “renewed his call for the government to intervene and destroy the hegemony of the nation’s five largest banks,” according to a Des Moines Register article. Wow! Give that guy a “We Are the 99%” t-shirt!

(3) The battle over raw milk is, well, heating up. Prediction 1: I drink a glass of raw milk during today’s program. Prediction 2: I do not thus die a horrible death.

So, join the conversation online from 12:00 noon-1:00 pm, Monday-Friday. You can hear the show live on my website. I would love to have a veritable truckload of listeners call-in to join the conversation at 244-0077. And of course, there will be podcasts if you miss a show.

Thanks! — Ed