The Rebel Faction

Here you’ll find some archived radio programs of “The Rebel Faction,” a talk show formed and hosted by Matt “The Watcher” Williams and myself (the “lovely” Rima, as my co-host called me) in January of 2004. During our first months on the air, we covered various topics such as the state of education, energy and the economy, and the legal issues behind music piracy and recreational drugs, just to name a few. In time, we chose to take on a more laid-back format for some shows, dropping the point-counterpoint technique for more laid-back, research-based conversation and analysis. We also had a variety of guests over the show’s three-year lifespan, from law enforcement and professors as well as other experts on given topics to dedicated liberal and conservative political activists and popular musicians.

Over the years, The Rebel Faction saw a number of changes, mainly because the Watcher and I were always willing to try something new. It was not uncommon for us to have serious shows on timely and important news topics for a few weeks, and then switching gears to bring listeners something more “fun”–our Halloween shows were always very laid-back, as were our episodes analyzing popular culture.

Below, you’ll find several shows from our last season, including our goodbye special:

02.04.06 — Freedoms and the State of the Union
Guests: Emmett McClary and Jason W. Johnson

With conservative McClary and liberal Johnson on the show, we were able to form a well-rounded debate on issues relating to the President’s State of the Union address, and to the First Amendment with regard to an arrest that took place prior to the speech.

[.mp3 format | 00:59:59]

02.11.06 — Video Games: Part 2

A discussion among Matt (The Watcher), (The Lady) Nekko and (The Lovely) Rima, this was our second show on video games. We had planned on doing this the previous semester, and I had even conducted interviews as can be heard below, but we sadly had to put things off. By the time we did the show, the interviews were no longer timely.

[.mp3 format | 01:01:59] || [Interviews in .mp3 format | 00:10:08]

02.18.06 — K-12 and the Standardization of Higher Education
Guest: educator Jason Johnson

Recent news reports showed that a policy similar to “No Child Left Behind” could be brought to higher education with a new national K-16 or K-20 system.

[.mp3 format | 01:01:57]

02.25.06 — Islam and the East-West Divide
Guests: Dr. Mary Thurlkill and Muslim Student Association President Islam Eshrah

On this show, we took a look at the religion of Islam from two different perspectives, one scholarly and one personal. The guests spent the hour addressing common concerns, questions and even myths held about Islam in the Western world.

[.mp3 format | 00:58:57]
[Note: This show is now an Award Winner.]

03.04.06 — Stem Cells and Therapeutic Cloning
Guests: Dr. Ken Sufka, a psychologist and pharmacologist, and Dr. Brad Jones, a biologist

In light of recent moves to ban therapeutic cloning in the state, we invited Drs. Sufka and Jones to speak with us regarding stem cell research and its implications for possible medical advancements in terms of diseases and gene-linked defects. The scientists provided listeners with information on both what these terms mean and where these procedures could lead in the future of science.

[.mp3 format | 00:50:47]

03.25.06 — Abortion and the Ole Miss Community
Guests: Dawn, a mother and a student; Steph, an alumna and a high school teacher; Richard, a student and our male voice for the topic

After a two-show hiatus for spring break, we returned to the airwaves with three guests who joined us in a discussion of women’s issues at Ole Miss and in the South. The state legislature had recently attempted to pass a bill that would ban abortion, and so this became our discussion focal point.

[.mp3 format | 00:51:41]

04.01.06 — President George W. Bush Resigns: A Nation in Turmoil

This extremely successful April Fool’s Day joke had many listeners calling in, wondering where to get more information on the president’s “resignation.” For realism, we edited and spliced together sound clips from several speeches and press conferences to form an “excerpt” from a fictional press conference he’d supposedly held earlier in the week, we rewrote parts of former President Nixon’s resignation speech, and we had our regular third-season guest Jason Johnson call in to confirm our far-fetched claims. As a special treat, listeners are encouraged to listen to the last few minutes of the show where we “confess” things about ourselves. Happy April Fool’s Day!

[.mp3 format | 00:50:25 - music breaks removed in the interest of copyright]
[Note: The show was so effective that columnist Marty Russell wrote about it for The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal | (mirror site)]

04.08.06 — Is America Due for Revolution?
Guests: Jason (a literary scholar), Casey (a scholar of history) and David (a political scholar); via phone: Melody (a political activist)

This week, we discussed a very dangerous topic: revolution and what it would mean in America today versus what it meant over 200 years ago to our nation’s Founding Fathers. We covered everything from Jeffersonian thought to the First Amendment and current United States Code. The danger itself came with respect to the U.S. Code (Title 18, Section 2385), among other things, which states the penalties facing anyone who advocates or encourages the “violent” overthrow of the government. In today’s Post-Sept. 11 world, such legal issues are no longer monochromatic, and therefore must be discussed thoroughly to be understood and defined once again.

[.mp3 format | 00:50:18]

07.08.06 — Goodbye Rebel Faction

Life moves on and so shall we. This week, Matt and I decided to give our show of three years, The Rebel Faction, a proper send-off. With only one day to prepare, we decided to treat the show just as we did in our first season. The format was fairly relaxed (although the conversation did become passionate at times), and the topics were varied. Given the special nature of this broadcast, the we extended to show to two hours, something we had not done since the 2004 presidential elections. Thanks to all who listened, and who e-mailed and/or called us to say goodbye.

[HOUR ONE | HOUR TWO — .mp3 format]

In 2006, The Rebel Faction began winning awards. You can read more about that here.