Customer Reviews

Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr. "Reflections on the Current Scene"

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This show was previously advertised as a 1975 episode on feminism (since corrected). Mr. Buckley introduces the show by saying it's unusual for two reasons: there is no set topic (we get to see what was "in the air" in that moment in time), and it is not a debate (since they generally agree),

The conversation takes place at the University of Hawaii, with 3 student panelists on a couch, and several more students seated on the floor Romper Room-style in between the stage and the couch. The most prominent subjects of discussion are Spiro Agnew's war with the press and overpopulation. Perhaps revealing myself as a youngster having caught only the tail end of the Firing Line run on TV, it's fascinating seeing this free-range survey of the political conversation of another age, especially with one of the participants providing the perspective of a previous age (Mrs. Luce contributes a few anecdotes from the 1920s to illustrate the conversation).

I must say that I applaud the Hoover Institution for making select episodes of this amazing show more available, as it is part of the intellectual patrimony of the whole nation. I'm hoping to see more!