On September 12, 2001, the day after the fall of the Twin Towers, WABC-AM in New York City recruited John Batchelor to go on the air until Osama bin Laden was either killed or captured. John has been on ever since, offering insightful commentary on such issues as the war on terrorism, the presidency, the national and global economies, and defending our civilization. On March 12, 2003, one week before the attack on Iraq, ABC Radio Networks invited John to bring his expertise to syndication. Since then John has reached out nationwide, focusing his concerns on a world at war.
The John Batchelor Show is an essential tool for understanding the new order in the 21st Century. The world is now facing a dangerous and fanatical enemy determined to destroy Western civilization on both political and military fronts. In this, the first great ideological battle of the new millennium, it is imperative to know the major players and the theaters in which they operate.
The John Batchelor Show features a multitude of distinctive elements. John's themes cover every detail - from military battles, presidential campaigns, planetary exploration, and Hollywood politicos to his own international travel. John has broadcast from many corners of the world and in his program he calls out to all points, including New York, Jerusalem, Des Moines, Kazakhstan, Orlando, Manchester, Morocco, Boston, Taipei, Washington, and Baghdad.
John is a veteran novelist, author of seven political romances as well as a short history of the Republican Party. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1948, John attended Lower Merion High School and Princeton University. In 1976 he was graduated from Union Theological Seminary. John is married and has two children.
S8 Ep173: he Caudine Forks and the Dangers of Half-Measures — Gaius & Germanicus — Germanicus and Gaius center their discussion on the instructive Roman historical lesson of the Caudine Forks: a victor must either completely annihilate the enemy or embrace them as
S8 Ep173: The Three Archetypes of American Global Strategy — Gaius & Germanicus — Gaius and Germanicus analyze the prospective American National Security Strategy for 2025–2026, framing it as a deliberate return to the "Trump corollary" of the Monroe Doctrine empha
The Three Archetypes of American Global Strategy — Gaius & Germanicus — Gaius and Germanicus analyze the prospective American National Security Strategy for 2025–2026, framing it as a deliberate return to the "Trump corollary" of the Monroe Doctrine emphasizing hemispheric supremacy and regional sphere-of-influence arrangements. Germanicus categorizes American foreign policy history into three religious-like ideological visions: Washington'sisolationist "beacon on the hill," the Monroe-Adams "realm of liberty" (defensive empire protecting American interests), and the Jacksonian "Prometheus unbound" (universalist ideological expansion spreading democratic values). Germanicus argues the incoming administration systematically rejects the "Wilson to Biden" lineage of global interventionism and messianic crusading in favor of Theodore Roosevelt-style "flexible realism" emphasizing power, national interest, and transactional diplomacy. Gaius details this shifted strategy as consolidating American dominance in the Western Hemisphere and Pacific region while according Russia respect and a recognized sphere of influence in Eurasia, explicitly rejecting Cold War confrontationalism. Gaius documents that Kremlin leadership has explicitly welcomed this "flexible realism," viewing it as a geopolitical departure from perpetual adversarial Cold War mindset. Germanicus contrasts this transactional approach with the "Manichaean" moral crusades characterizing recent American foreign policy, suggesting the American public now explicitly favors strategy avoiding military entanglement while prioritizing domestic prosperity and economic reconstruction, mirroring isolationist sentiments following World War I.
1911 USS MAINE IN HAVANA HARBOR
1911 USS MAINE IN HAVANA HARBOR
S8 Ep173: The Courtiers' Pivot and the Failing Imperial Narrative — Gaius & Germanicus — Gaius and Germanicus, in their metaphorical 91 AD Londinium dialogue, critique the Western foreign policy establishment, dismissively labeled "courtiers," regarding their syste
The Courtiers' Pivot and the Failing Imperial Narrative — Gaius & Germanicus — Gaius and Germanicus, in their metaphorical 91 AD Londinium dialogue, critique the Western foreign policy establishment, dismissively labeled "courtiers," regarding their systematic narrative repositioning on the Ukraine war as military circumstances deteriorate catastrophically. Germanicus argues that these elite advisors prioritize preservation of institutional status and access to executive power over accountability and honest assessment; as the military situation turns decisively against Ukraine, these courtiers seamlessly pivot from predicting Ukrainian victory to blaming European allies for failing to "step up" with additional military commitment. Germanicus draws historical parallels to the fall of the Soviet Union, noting that elites systematically rewrite their past positions retrospectively to claim they foresaw inevitable geopolitical collapses, a psychological mechanism enabling survival without disgrace or professional consequences. Gaius and Germanicuscontrast successful empires possessing unified narratives aligned with coherent strategy against the current Americanapproach, characterized as "predatory opportunism" driven by electoral manipulation requirements. Germanicuscontends that strategic failures in Ukraine—where population and material resources mathematically determine victory—expose the U.S. as a "weak and venal empire" relying upon a "pastiche" of propagandistic lies rather than the solid convergence of vision that characterized American dominance during World War II.
1918 UKRAINE
1918 UKRAINE
S8 Ep172: None So Blind: The Legacy of the Amateur Spies: Colleague Charles Spicer discusses None So Blind, a rare book compiled by Christie and Conwell-Evans documenting their ignored warnings to the British government, tracing the later lives of the protagonists:
- None So Blind: The Legacy of the Amateur Spies: Colleague Charles Spicer discusses None So Blind, a rare book compiled by Christie and Conwell-Evans documenting their ignored warnings to the British government, tracing the later lives of the protagonists: Tennant died in 1962 leaving a memoir, Conwell-Evans lived modestly while advising prime ministers, and the heroic Graham Christie committed suicide at age 91; the Travelers Club remains a physical legacy of their efforts, and Spicer concludes that while their mission failed, these courageous figures' story was largely lost until historian Martin Gilbert and Spicer himself recovered the records.
1945 berlin
S8 Ep172: Judgment at Nuremberg and Post-War Denial: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that at the Nuremberg trials, a broken Ribbentrop attempted to call Conwell-Evans and Tennant as witnesses to prove his pre-war peace efforts, while Göring remained defiant and H
Judgment at Nuremberg and Post-War Denial: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that at the Nuremberg trials, a broken Ribbentrop attempted to call Conwell-Evans and Tennant as witnesses to prove his pre-war peace efforts, while Göring remained defiant and Hess exhibited erratic behavior; discussing the "Ministries Trial" and the post-war tendency of British officials including Vansittart to deny their connections to the amateur spies, this denial stemmed from embarrassment over their chaotic engagement with the Nazis and the uncomfortable realization that the war might have been preventable.
1938
1938
S8 Ep172: 1940: The Fall of France and the Rise of Churchill: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from Dunkirk in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and actively utilized intelligence from Christie and
1940: The Fall of France and the Rise of Churchill: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that as the British Expeditionary Force retreated from Dunkirk in May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and actively utilized intelligence from Christie and Vansittart; critiquing the 1940 book Guilty Men as a simplistic polemic that established the popular narrative blaming appeasers for the war, the narrative highlights Lord Lothian's success in Washington persuading Roosevelt to support Britain, and connects Rudolf Hess's flight to Scotland to the Fellowship, explaining that Hess sought out the Duke of Hamilton in a delusional attempt to broker peace.
1938
1938
S8 Ep172: The Phony War: Assassination Plots and Missed Chances: Colleague Charles Spicer details efforts to remove Hitler during the "Phony War," including a plan by diplomat Eric Kordt to assassinate Hitler that was inadvertently thwarted by Ge
The Phony War: Assassination Plots and Missed Chances: Colleague Charles Spicer details efforts to remove Hitler during the "Phony War," including a plan by diplomat Eric Kordt to assassinate Hitler that was inadvertently thwarted by Georg Elser's independent bombing of the Bürgerbräukeller; Graham Christie continued meeting with Hermann Göring, revealed as an opportunist playing both sides rather than a sincere alternative to Hitler, while Tennant was exposed on a mission in Norway and forced to flee, with British leadership remaining slow to comprehend the existential threat facing the Expeditionary Force in France despite accurate intelligence.
1938
1938
S8 Ep172: The Tennant Mission and the Failure of Alliances: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that in the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook a final secret mission to Ribbentrop's Austrian castle, confirming that Hitler intended to attack Poland and wage a lo
The Tennant Mission and the Failure of Alliances: Colleague Charles Spicer recounts that in the summer of 1939, Ernest Tennant undertook a final secret mission to Ribbentrop's Austrian castle, confirming that Hitler intended to attack Poland and wage a long war; while London believed this intelligence and pursued a pact with Poland, Chamberlain's deep antipathy toward the Soviets delayed an alliance with Stalin, and Soviet spies leaked these diplomatic moves to Germany, accelerating the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, emphasizing that despite accurate intelligence from the amateur spies, British leadership failed to exploit opportunities.
1938
1938
S8 Ep172: 1939: Diplomatic Disasters and Soviet Infiltration: Colleague Charles Spicer explains that by early 1939, relations deteriorated as Ribbentrop, now Foreign Minister, turned violently anti-British following his social failures in London, characterizing Bri
1939: Diplomatic Disasters and Soviet Infiltration: Colleague Charles Spicer explains that by early 1939, relations deteriorated as Ribbentrop, now Foreign Minister, turned violently anti-British following his social failures in London, characterizing British Ambassador Neville Henderson as a disastrous "arch-appeaser" who refused to upset the Nazi regime; meanwhile, Conwell-Evans continued to gather intelligence while enduring threatening luncheons with Ribbentrop, and the Soviets infiltrated the narrative through the book Tory MP, which attacked the Fellowship and was written by authors recruited by Soviet intelligence.
1938
1938
S8 Ep172: The Oster Conspiracy and the Resilience of the Fellowship: Colleague Charles Spicer discusses the 1938 crisis, focusing on the "Oster Conspiracy," a credible German plot to arrest Hitler that was undermined by Prime Minister Chamberlain's appeasement visi
The Oster Conspiracy and the Resilience of the Fellowship: Colleague Charles Spicer discusses the 1938 crisis, focusing on the "Oster Conspiracy," a credible German plot to arrest Hitler that was undermined by Prime Minister Chamberlain's appeasement visits; despite the shock of Kristallnacht, the Anglo-German Fellowship remained a crucial channel for intelligence, with reports from Conwell-Evans regarding Ribbentrop discussed in the British Cabinet, proving that high-quality intelligence was reaching decision-makers, though the British government prioritized diplomatic engagement over supporting internal regime change, missing a significant opportunity to stop the dictator.
1938
1938