Shapiro’s League of Seven: No man or woman is an island

Shapiro’s League of Seven: “No man or woman is an island” (Episode #03)

League members: Jon Reid and Chris Henderson
Hosted by Ari Shapiro
Recorded: March 27th, 2020 (30:32)

Another day, another lockdown.

Most of the western world is losing their respective battles with the coronavirus while other smaller nations continue to impress us with their fortitude, fastidious ways and transparency to their local communities. In lieu of this powerful variance between how different countries have handing this pandemic, it’s abundantly clear that the idealistic notion of cooperative globalism has been reduced to a cynical mantra of everyone for themselves and let’s hope fear and anxiety doesn’t destroy the best laid plans of mankind.

It makes me wonder: what will happen when this period of life is over and is this really an opportunity for humanity’s reboot in the areas of kindness, compassion and empathy while making health care the absolute most important political issue of our time moving forward – or will it be back to business as usual with 2% less humans and significantly less civil rights and freedoms?

Theme: Lovers In A Dangerous Time (Bruce Cockburn, Stealing Fire, 1984)

“No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s.

Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.”

-John Donne (1624)

Shapiro’s League of Seven: The Failure of Social Distancing and Donald Trump

Shapiro’s League of Seven: “The Failure of Social Distancing and Donald Trump” (Episode #02)

League members: Chris Henderson and Bradley Huff
Hosted by Ari Shapiro
Record: March 22nd, 2020.

Subjects covered:

1. The coronavirus aka COVID-19 is raging, and social distancing is proving to me an unmitigated failure. While countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam are proving to show the world that they can slay the pandemic giant – other nations such as Italy, Iran and The United State of New York City are ensuring that an inevitable lockdown is n the horizon – the kind that will prevent you from having your pretentiously premium coffee brewed for you while limiting the glory of having beef vindaloo and garlic naan with your binge-watching weekend. These are dark times that could last half a year or longer before we flatten the curve as the cool kids like to say.

2. What the hell went wrong? How did we know so much about the imminent arrival of this pandemic and why do we find ourselves handling it like lemmings hoarding toilet paper, bread, and other medical supplies while those who really need it are frustrated to roam the planet looking for an available hospital bed? Where’s the empathy and compassion needed to overcome this crisis…and has it ever existed?

3. How Donald Trump stumbled and bumbled has way into political oblivion, downplaying the severity of the situation and reducing the number of CDC workers…and yet it’s more than likely he’ll be re-elected in November when and if the elections are held.

Theme: Money City Maniacs (Sloan, Navy Blues, 1998)

Toronto Blue Jays Round Table: Rebuilding Pride. But At What Cost?

Enjoy the latest Toronto Blue Jays round table recorded on May 20th, 2019 and brought to you by Jays Journal and

Settle in and join host Ari Shapiro and his guests: country musician star and site expert Chris Henderson (@baseball4brains), scouting director and minor league expert Richard Birfer (@richardbirfs), and celebrated writer and public speaker Hayden Godfrey (@haydengodfreyy).

Together, they tackle the issue of resting Vlad Guerrero Jr. hot on the heels of winning AL Player of the Week and in front of a national holiday crowd, how to analyze the reported 25% decrease in attendance over last year and what baseball is doing to combat diminishing interest in the sport, evaluating the fourth year of the Shapiro/Atkins era, why the fourth largest market in baseball has an actualized payroll of $65 million dollars, what to do with Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez as the only legitimate trading chips on the roster, looking back at Roberto Osuna and the price that was paid for making a “moral” baseball trade, and their general speculation on the quality and nature of this enigmatic rebuild.

Be sure to visit and for your latest in Blue Jays insights, editorials, and analysis.

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