Some weeks, the Weekly Havok isn’t just the name of the show, it’s also the way the show comes together. This was one of those weeks. We threw every hiccup and technical glitch we could at Ben Varlese and Dax Mallory and they kept on ticking. Best of all – thanks to our producer Michael Neal – none of the glitches will even make it into the episode. So you will never know the landmines you dodged in your audio experience this week. Probably good to have a week like this every so often – keeps us humble. But if you think Ben and Dax are good guests, just wait until they do a show where everything goes smoothly.

Show Alibis

Did I even mention the subject this week? That was the first audible we called on Dax and Ben – getting them to pick the subject about a minute before we started the show. I gave them three choices and they picked the one I could barely articulate, go figure. So I spent the first five minutes of the show trying to figure out what the hell I had signed us up for.

And then…

As you all probably know, Afghanistan has been weighing heavily on me – to the detriment of the other news stories in the world now. That’s my way of saying that I should have pushed Dax harder on the subject of Haitian immigrants and the southern border. Of course, we try not to do a show that is topical punditry, but this was a missed lay-up.

The cross-pollination of criminal organizations and terror groups is a pet fascination of mine. So when Ben brought it up, I couldn’t wait to get into it. Or, actually, I guess I could wait, because I never got around to talking about it again. Make that two easy lay-ups missed during this episode. Did I mention we had problems this week?

Show Notes

Blackwater Memorial Alumni Association

Havok Journal

Savage Wonder podcast

Veterans Repertory Theater