Author and bioethicist Wesley J. Smith joined us for an hour to talk about the controversy ignited by Michael J. Fox and Amendment 2--which Michael admits he hasn't read.

Representative Jeff Harris (D-23rd) joined us to talk about MOHELA, job creation, and funding for higher education.

Greg Miller, video game columnist for the Columbia Daily Tribune, talked about the popularity of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Second Life.  There must be a reason that companies like Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, and Wal-Mart are setting up shop in virtual reality.

Angela Howard and Maggie Hunter of PACE Youth Theater talked about their upcoming production of The Legend of Redwall Abbey.

Dr. Terry Smith, professor of political science at Columbia College, told us why he thinks the Republican Party may hold on to control of Congress on November 7.

Noah Medling, Columbia's municipal liaison for National Novel Writing Month, talked about the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.  The fun begins November 1.

Patrick Crabtree, Republican candidate in the 23rd District of the Missouri House of Representatives, joined us to outline his positions on the issues.

Our guest was Anna Baltzer, author of the new book Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories.  She offered a perspective on life in the West Bank that most of us don’t get from American media.

The last half hour of today's show was spent with Greg Miller, video game columnist for the Columbia Daily Tribune, and Kyle Elfrink, host of The Big Show on our sister station ESPN Radio 1580 KTGR.  We talked about the controversial new video game Bully, the Mizzou/K-State homecoming matchup tomorrow, and the Cardinals’ amazing run to the World Series.

Oh, yes -- Derek also discovered that Kyle is a fellow Strat-O-Matic Baseball geek.

Intelligence analyst Laura Mansfield, author of the new book The Islamic Republic of America, told us about the declaration of independence by the new Islamic State of Iraq.

Dr. Chris Mazurek, a professor of psychology at Columbia College, talked about his experience as a contestant on Jeopardy!  He'll be on TV next Thursday at 5:00pm CT (GMT -6) on KMIZ-TV, Channel 17 here in Columbia.

Terry Meyer and principal Mike Jeffers of Hickman High School talk about the 4th Annual Hickman Hog Roast.

Dr. Terry Smith, professor of political science at Columbia College, spent an hour with us to discuss the upcoming midterm elections. Is Karl Rove ready to unleash an October surprise to keep control of Congress in Republican hands?

Attorney, author and Eagle legal analyst Stone Grissom explored the implicatons of the recently signed Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Missouri Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Voter Photo ID law.

Steve and Jay Curry of Team Q (and proprietors of Spicewine Ironworks), winners of the Grand Champion trophy at the Brain Injury Association of Missouri Saturday, told us what it takes to to create world class barbecue.  Aimee Olmstead, who coordinated the contest for the Brain Injury Association, talked about the competition and the scholarship that benefited from the event.

Rod Chapel, Director of the Missouri Department of Labor, and Katharine Barondeau, Director of the Division of Employment Security, joined us to talk about some good news for employers in Missouri, and some new programs for employers and employees to make it easier to access to state services.

Links:

• Missouri Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations
• Division of Employment Security
• The USTAR program home page
  

Dean Andersen and Tiffany Bowman, representing a coalition of Columbians who backed the recently approved ban on smoking in most public places in the city, explained their reasons for supporting the ban.

Republican state representative Ed Robb (24th District) talked about his reelection campaign and the challenges facing the General Assembly in the upcoming session.

Former presidential candidate, author, and political commentator Pat Buchanan joined us to talk about his latest book State of Emergency.

David Beamer, father of United Flight 93 hero Todd Beamer, talked about his group "United to Defeat Terrorism".

Derek, Justin, and Kyle Elfrink, host of The Big Show on sister station ESPN Radio 1580 KTGR, talked about the weekend sports lineup.

Mike McMillen of the Kansas City Barbecue Society stopped by with Aimee Olmstead, the organizer of the 2006 Brain Injury Association BBQ Contest, to talk about this weekend's contest.  They also gave out some Buck Creek Barbecue Sauces, which Justin Alferman and Derek Gilbert will attest is some of the best they've ever had.

Derek will be one of the judges at the contest Saturday, which benefits the Brain Injury Association of Missouri.

Dr. Terry Smith of Columbia College joined us to analyze the shifting political scene.  Note: A computer glitch cost us the second half of the interview.

Attorney, author, and bioethicist Wesley J. Smith joined us for an hour-long discussion of Missouri's proposed Amendment 2, the stem cell initiative.

Dr. Charles Timberlake, professor emeritus of history at the University of Missouri, discussed the reasons for the current tensions between Russia and the Caucasus mountain republic of Georgia.

John Schultz, chair of the Boone County Libertarian Party, and Greg Rennier, chair of the Boone Liberty Coalition, talked about last night's vote by the Columbia City Council to ban smoking in most public places.

Author and intelligence analyst Laura Mansfield filled us in on the latest chatter from the Arabic language jihadi websites and message boards.

Jim Williams of the American Red Cross and Caleb Colbert, coordinator of Mizzou's Homecoming Blood Drive, talked about this year's drive and how we can help.

Dr. Tim Lewis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Special Education at MU, talked about how educators can prevent the next Columbine-type event.

Links:

1. University of Missouri's Department of Special Education
2. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (the site recommended by Dr. Lewis during the interview)
   

Jim Ritter, Democratic candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives in the 24th District, outlined his positions on the issues.

Greg Miller, the Game Over columnist for the Columbia Daily Tribune, fills us in on his first week with his new Xbox 360.

Agribusiness writer and author Kate Iola talked about what she saw and heard at last week's symposium on agricultural terror.  It seems that the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, and the law enforcement agencies in at least 20 other nations now take the threat of agroterror very seriously.

Dr. Terry Smith, professor of political science and Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs at Columbia College, analyzed the political scene in Missouri and across the U.S.

Author, attorney, and legal analyst Stone Grissom stopped by and generated so many calls on the topic of Columbia's forthcoming red-light camera program that we didn't get to the other five topics on Derek's list.

Chief of Police Randy Boehm joined us to talk about how his officers have trained to respond to incidents such as the school shootings in Bailey, Colorado and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Lynn Barnett, Assistant Superintendant in the Columbia School District, talked about security in the schools in light of the rash of school shootings in recent weeks.

Author and intelligence analyst Laura Mansfield talked about the latest video release by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and a call from the Global Islamic Media Front for a "media invasion" of the United States.

Jeffrey Epstein, founder and director of America's Truth Forum, talked about the threat we face from radical Islam and his symposium November 10 and 11 in Las Vegas, Understanding the Threat of Radical Islamist Terrorism.