Current Events | Book Spectrum

Lethal Doses: Inside the Mind of an International Fentanyl Kingpin

While politicians have used the Fentanyl crisis to grandstand while more people are dying each day from drugs laced with the deadly chemical, Lethal Doses tells the story of an undercover agent who was on the front lines, doing something about it.
In the book, author and former undercover agent John Madinger takes us into the world of clandestine operations in a quest to find one of the most notorious and dangerous illicit drug chemist, George Erik Marquardt, known as the “Godfather of Fentanyl.” While we usually only get to read the headlines after a major drug bust, Madinger brings the reader deeply into the world of fentanyl creation and a mental chess match between him, law enforcement and Marquardt in an effort to gather enough evidence to bring the prodigy chemical creator to justice.
While Madinger allows readers to appreciate what actually goes into investigating and prosecuting international drug criminals while virtually embedding them into the front lines of the War against Fentanyl, he also takes us into the mind of his adversary. We learn of the genius of Marquardt, his childhood, his personal trauma and what drove him into a life where he would soon become responsible for massive deaths of unsuspecting Americans. Rarely do we get that kind of perspective and fly-on-the-wall view of the intricacies of undercover drug enforcement ops and at the same time learn to understand the mentality of a criminal mastermind as well as what makes him proverbially tick.
Lethal Doses is an essential read for those who want to understand the War on Fentanyl, world of drug creation and what drives a highly intelligent person to such an illegal and deadly occupation.

Current Events History

S3 E10- A Natural History of Humanity as Told by Alien Visitors

Many of us have wondered what an alien civilization might discover about us long after the extinction of humanity as well as what might lead to society’s demise. Author and Modern-Day Philosopher Ishi Nobu explores this from foreign planet scholars’ point of view in his new book, The Story of Humanity: Ecology & Consequence.

While exploring mankind’s history through the lens of visiting Anthropologic scholars decades beyond its end, not unlike modern humans of the same profession have done to explain discoveries pertaining to their observances of our own ancient civilizations. Such an approach by Nobu offers a surreal element to the way our story might be told through what we may leave behind as we of modern times are the mystery being unlocked and explored.

Ishi Nobu is an independent scholar & guru who conveys his deep comprehension of Nature and reality. These efforts are displayed in his comprehensive coverage of all aspects of Nature, human endeavor, and spirituality. His previous books: The Red Pill: Mastering The Matrix; Clarity: The Path Inside; Unraveling Reality: Behind the Veil of Existence; and the 8-book Spokes of the Wheel cycle: The Science of Existence, The Web of Life, The Elements of Evolution, The Ecology of Humans, The Echoes of The Mind, The Fruits of Civilization, The Pathos of Politics, and The Hub of Being.

Nobu is renowned for deliberate, incisive scholarship. He has the rare talent of drawing insights from multiple disciplines and weaving them into a revealing consilience. Follow Nobu on Twitter @ishinobu_actual.

Current Events History Non-Fiction politics

S3 E08- Dan Shyti Breaks Down the Systematic Gaslighting of Many Americans in His Latest Book

In his timely new book, American Gaslighting: How America is Being Systematically Taught to Hate Itself, author Daniel A. Shyti provides an in-depth analysis of human psychology and historical precedent demonstrating how Americans are being manipulated into hating their own country to serve the ends of political extremists who have propagandized entertainment, education and several other aspects of the culture. Dan breaks this down and discusses how he did his research on this episode of Book Spectrum.

Shyti minces no words about this manipulation, stating, “We need to blow the lid off woke ideology and expose it for what it really is – Marxism in disguise. The goal is to systematically deceive Americans into hating their own country. Its central tactic is pervasive gaslighting, a psychological ploy designed to make people doubt the reality that is right under their noses. “

“There wasn’t one specific event that triggered me to write this book,” says Shyti. “Rather, it was a build-up over time as I observed the egregious assaults on the American identity and the blatant self-hatred that the left is determined to create. As I heard the lies coming from the left, I noticed that they grew more and more outrageous, and it became obvious to me that the left was engaged in creating an alternate reality – persistent gaslighting intended to induce Americans to hate their own country.”

Daniel A. Shyti is a professional speaker, leadership expert, speech coach, political commentator, author, and patriot. After graduating with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Pratt Institute and serving in the Army for four years, Dan made the transition to private industry. There he dedicated himself to being a good leader and eventually became the Vice President of a Fortune 100 technology company, until he left to start his own leadership training company.

Dan founded 4 Power Leadership, with the goal of creating personal transformation through teaching the art of leadership. Dan is the author of 4 Power Leadership: Your Pathway to Leadership Success and Ten Timeless Rules for Life: Things Every Young Person Should Know for a Perfect Launch. His third book, American Gaslighting: How America is Being Systemically Taught to Hate Itself, examines political ideology in a combined context context of human nature, logical thought, and historical perspective to expose and counter Marxism cloaked as “woke ideology.” Shyti passionately believes that identity politics is destroying America and that Americans need to unite under the one identity that matters – the American Identity – and commit to the Constitution as our unifying framework. Daniel and his wife live in Sterling, VA.

Current Events History Non-Fiction politics

S3 E03 – A Deep Dive into Putin’s Playbook with former DIA Agent Rebekah Koffler

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine commences and captures worldwide headlines, what people might not know is this is only a small portion of Vladimir Putin’s long game. What does he have planned next? What is the bigger picture? How does he plan to go about his ambitious goals?
With me on Book Spectrum for this episode is Rebekah Koffler, a Soviet-born former US intelligence officer with the DIA and author of the book, “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America”
As we are seeing some of the Russian President’s games play out these days, Koffler says this has been in the works for a while. In Putin’s Playbook, Koffler goes in-depth on how Putin rose to power from behind the scenes to pushing himself onto the world stage. She also delves into:
Why Putin wants to rebuild the old USSR under his rule
How Putin wants to cement his legacy
Why Putin sees himself as the “Good Guy” amid the controversies with some of the former Soviet Republics
Putin’s disdain for NATO before and after publicly declaring the western treaty group as a threat to Russia’s existence.
When why and how Putin picks and chooses the times and circumstances involved with executing his plans
Are the US and the rest of the NATO nations strong enough to go against Putin in a potential world war or are they too weakened by internal wokeness policies to respond to the Russian threat?

Koffler’s goes inside the mind of the Russian oligarch in Putin’s Playbook.

Current Events Fiction Issues Sports

S3 E01 – M K Lever Reveals the Dark Side of College Sports in Surviving the Second Tier

We kick off Season 3 of Book Spectrum with a new author, M. K. Lever, whose new book Surviving the Second Tier depicts a dystopian world with an all-powerful NCAA which consolidated every collegiate sport into one super smackdown league. Lever’s knockout debut book weaves major issues and themes throughout a parallel Earth and the main character, “Sis,” to display the real world truths that face athletes in the college athletic world as told by someone with experience inside and a track record of in-depth research into the system.

“I wrote this book to educate readers about the reality of the college sports industry, as someone who has been there before,” Lever says. “Sometimes, facts and statistics don’t stick with people and since we are intrinsically wired to follow narratives, I wanted to tell people a story in hopes that the message would resonate in a unique and powerful way. I wanted to give college sports the 1984 treatment and create a narrative that would be impactful and a little unsettling.”

Lever, a former Division 1 athlete and PhD candidate at UT Austin, combines her personal experiences as a student athlete and the weight of her academic research in areas concerning NCAA rhetoric, discourse, and policy to create her stunning and emotionally driven literary debut. She tells the story through “Sis,” who competes in the only NCAA sport, a no-holds-barred fighting league while dealing with trying to keep winning and maintaining a perfect GPA.

M. K. Lever is a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas, researching NCAA rhetoric and policy, and working as a freelance sportswriter and sports consultant. She graduated from Western Kentucky Univiersity with a B.A. in Communication Studies and an M.A. in Organizational Communication. While at WKU, she was a Division 1 athlete running track and cross country and was a two-time Sun Belt Conference champion in track and field (indoor and outdoor).

Current Events Education History Issues Non-Fiction politics

S2 E20 – Scott Shay Exposes Anti-Jewish Conspiracy Theories Being Taught at US Universities

While writing a tribute to his father, a survivor of the Holocaust who educated him on the importance of faith and Jewish values, Scott Shay was disturbed and dismayed to discover the presence of extremist anti-Zionist professors (Far Left and Far Right) on the faculty of his alma mater, Northwestern University. As a student of Jewish thought, history, and current events, who has written extensively on contemporary Jewish issues, he was compelled to take a deep dive into the world of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories and academia.

“I learned that Northwestern University, my beloved alma mater and a jewel of American academia, has enabled some of its professors to openly promote conspiracy theories,” says Shay. “Sadly, many academics can no longer even identify conspiracy theories. Professorial proponents insist that far from being conspiracy theorists, they are brave truth tellers.”

Set against the framework of Northwestern University’s motto, Conspiracy U not only illustrates the issues present when serious and trustworthy scholarship is abandoned in favor of theory and ideology, but proposes that the motto itself points toward a better option. Rather than dismissing ideology or giving it undue precedence, Shay suggests that the motto and the Golden Rule together form an unbiased and universally applicable framework which provides the intellectual and moral criteria to distinguish between facts and conspiracy theories, leaving room for diversity while also excluding approaches that devalue our common humanity.