Aired on January 25, 2026

• Authoritarian Rule, Epstein Files, Homeland Security

The first year of President Donald Trump’s second term has been notable for its volatility both domestically and internationally. Traditional rules of law aren’t acknowledged much less followed; NATO and America’s allies have been challenged and put on notice that decades of cooperation will not be the norm going forward; Venezuelan boats were bombed even by US airplanes that were made to look like civilian planes—an example of perfidy; promises made in the campaign to release the files about Jeffrey Epstein are being broken…the insults to Constitution go on and on. Listen in and meet our guests:

Born into a blue collar and agricultural clan in rural Pennsylvania, Dr. Jim Crawford was the first in his family to graduate from college. Earning his PhD from the University of North Carolina, he taught US and World History at several universities in the piedmont North Carolina for several decades. He served as chairman of the Chatham County board of commissioners. He is a firm believer in American democracy and trusts that the constitution will hold firm now as it has in past crises despite the broken, distempered electorate.

Dr. James Wood is currently Professor of Latin American and modern world history at North Carolina A&T State University. He is the author of The Society of Equality: Popular Republicanism and Democracy in Santiago de Chile, 1818-1851 and the co-editor of Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations, now in its fifth edition with Rowman and Littlefield. As a Fulbright scholar for Chile in 2016 he was a visiting professor at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago (where he observed Chilean student activism up close).

“On The Porch” is hosted by Randolph ”Randy” Voller. He is also the publisher of Chatham County Line. Randy welcomes guests to the show who are from the communities of art, academia, business, and politics for friendly and informative conversations. “On The Porch” airs every Sunday at 11:06 AM, and is repeated at 5:06 PM and 8:06 PM on WCHL-FM 97.9. The show also streams on ChapelBoro.com
Current and previous shows of “On The Porch” are posted as on-demand, ad-free podcasts at ChapelBoro.com, Spotify and Apple Podcasts
To be a guest on the show or send us a comment, email: ontheporch@wchl.com