A Story Told

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker commemorates the nation’s upcoming birthday with a look at the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker commemorates the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, and shares some recollections of his days as a US Marine in Vietnam.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares a biting satirical piece he once wrote for his now out-of-print newspaper, the North Coast Times Eagle. It’s about the life and times of the infamous, and now deceased, former US Senator from Oregon, Bob Packwood.

Among the offerings this week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares some local history: the story of how Greenpeace demonstrators temporarily stopped the progress of a US Navy ship coming to Portland for the 1990 Rose Festival to protest nuclear weapons.

This week on a Story Told, Michael McCusker shares a fictional essay he once wrote for his newspaper, the North Coast Times Eagle, about an imaginary conversation between music legend Curt Cobain and a Vietnam vet, on the subject of suicide.   Michael also shares a piece about the arrival of a US Navy ship...

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker talks about the denial of the realities of war that is inherent in American culture.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay written by his now-deceased friend Arthur Honeyman. The piece commemorates a May 11, 1970, protest in Portland referred to as Bloody Monday. On that day, Portland Police clashed with demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War on the Portland State University campus.  

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker honors a singular individual and an old friend who is now deceased.    His friend was a man named Arthur Honeyman, possessed with a sharp and eloquent intellect, but who suffered all his life from the ravages of cerebral palsy. Michael talks about Arthur, shares some of his poetry,...

Social and political commentary from local journalist, activist and Vietnam veteran Michael McCusker.

Michael reads a couple of pieces from recently deceased satirist Michael Graham and ends with some tea bag counciling.

Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote about the role of media in an increasingly autocratic society.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker reads an essay he published years ago in his newspaper, the North Coast Times-Eagle, about the history and evolution of the city of Astoria.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote titled, “One World for All.”

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay he wrote about PNW trees and the timber industry, and shares a political essay written by now deceased Peninsula resident DR. Robert Brake.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares an essay on women’s rights, honoring Women’s History Month.

Michael McCusker commemorates the anniversary this month of the infamous My Lai Massacre, a war crime committed by US Army personnel – the mass murder of unarmed civilians in South Vietnam – which happened on March 16, 1968. 

Michael McCusker on the latest in the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran. 

Michael McCusker on “One World For All”

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker reads an essay in honor of Oregon’s birthday last week, on Valentine’s Day.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker details the hideous history of US slavery.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker discusses tyranny and the concept of nonviolent civil disobedience.

Michael McCusker discusses the possible legacy of humanity, sharing an essay he wrote.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares the works of poet Langston Hughes, whose words take on renewed meaning in our current political climate. 

Michael McCusker honors the 100th anniversary of public radio.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker share international reaction to Trumps invasion of Venezuela. 

This week on A Story Told, as a new year dawns, Michael McCusker assesses the complex legacy of the US. 

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker talks about human rights, Eleanor Roosevelt and the legacy of Donald J. Trump.

Michael McCusker shares his views on the futility of war.

Michael reads about a collection of Nazi stamps and the demise of Northwest forests. He ends with the poem ‘Storm’ by John Paul Barrett.

Michael shares his misgivings about the history of Veterans Day, which was once called Armistice Day to honor peace. He also shares a bitingly sarcastic essay about the concept of patriotism and what it means in different political contexts.

Michael McCusker is at his storytelling best, as he share his autobiographical account of a harrowing series of events he experienced in Vietnam in 1966. Entitled, “Happy Birthday, Mother,” this graphic look at the real costs of war will stay with you long after you’ve heard it.

On this week’s A Story Told, Michael McCusker talks about how recent unusual behavior on the part of President Trump raises questions about his fitness to govern. And, he shares a story about the discovery of a previously unknown chapter of the famous novel, “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac. 

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker remembers Christopher Columbus and his accidental “discovery” of what would later be called, “The New World.”   Michael also shares a short story he wrote about hotshot firefighters. 

Michael McCusker shares a short story he wrote about a hunting trip gone wrong, called, “The Second Shot.” And shares an essay by political commentator and author Robert Reich, about the ongoing government shutdown.

Michael McCusker speaks on Trump’s recent push to occupy American cities with federal troops. 

Michael McCusker shares his views on the current American political climate and the “Trump Doctrine”

Michael McCusker shares two articles he wrote dedicated to the events of  9/11. 

Michael McCusker talks about the significance of Labor Day, the US labor movement, and the horrors of child labor.

Michael McCusker shares a varied range of topics: Donald Trump, tourism, the 19th Amendment, and a look at wildland firefighting history in the American West.

This week on A Story Told, Michael McCusker shares essays documenting Donald Trump’s rise to authoritarianism. 

Michael McCusker shares personal essays about nuclear war, Vietnam, and the history of the baby boom generation.

Michael McCusker talks about ongoing threats to democracy in current politics.

Michael McCusker analyzes the continuing dilemma of democracy in the age of Trump. 

Michael McCusker honors the anniversary yesterday of the 1945 Trinity Test, the first nuclear bomb test, in the desert near Alamogordo, NM. The event marked the beginning of the nuclear age.

Michael McCusker shares essays on the fragile nature of democracy.

Michael McCusker discusses the concepts of freedom and democracy, on the eve of Independence Day in the US, with a little help from Leonard Cohen.

Michael McCusker shares views on Donald Trump’s military aspirations, and a treatise on the potential demise of the US penny.

Michael McCusker shares more insight into the rapidly changing landscape of US politics.

Michael McCusker remembers Robert F Kennedy, who was assassinated on this day in 1968.

Michael McCusker honors Memorial Day with an essay on war.