The Ripple Effect Podcast

Fights With Friends is The Ripple Effect Podcast version of a Fight Companion podcast, made popular by Joe Rogan. Which is when we stream LIVE during MMA events, hang out, drink, laugh and talk about everything and anything. On this episode we stream LIVE for UFC 224 on Pay-Per-View. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter to find out when we will be streaming live for our next Fights With Friends.

Thomas Joseph "T.J." English worked as a freelance journalist in New York City during the day and drove a taxi at night. He often refers to cab driving as a metaphor for what he does as a writer – cruising the streets, interviewing strangers, exploring the unknown, reporting on what he sees and hears from his sojourns in and around the underworld.His work as a writer has taken him to Cuba, Jamaica, Hong Kong, Mexico, Ireland, and all around the U.S. writing about organized crime, criminal justice & the underworld. English also writes about a wide variety of subjects including music, politics, and movies. He has published full-length interviews with actor Bill Murray, former Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley, director Martin Scorsese, and comedy legend George Carlin, to name a few.In addition, English is a screenwriter and has penned episodes for the television crime dramas "NYPD Blue" and "Homicide," for which he was awarded the prestigious Humanitas Prize.English joins The Ripple Effect Podcast to talk about his new book THE CORPORATION: The Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld and about the history of organized crime in America.

Johann Hari is a Swiss-British New York Times Best-Selling author and journalist. Johann has written for many publications including The Independent and The Huffington Post, and has written books on the topic of the war on drugs, the monarchy, and depression. He also gave a TED talk on the topic of addiction. Johann joins us to talk about his latest book, Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions.

James DiEugenio first became interested in history while at film school. Later he studied Contemporary American History from California State University, Northridge.His first book, Destiny Betrayed (1992) took a close look at the Jim Garrison investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 1993, he became a co-founder of Citizens for Truth about the Kennedy Assassination. The following year he was co-founder of the Coalition on Political Assassinations (COPA).DiEugenio and Lisa Pease co-edited COPA's journal, Probe Magazine (1993-2000). DiEugenio is also the co-editor of The Assassinations (2002), a book that covers the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X.

Jefferson Morley is a journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over thirty years, fifteen of which were spent as an editor and reporter at the Washington Post. The author of Our Man in Mexico, a biography of the CIA's Mexico City station chief Winston Scott, Morley has written about intelligence, military, and political subjects for Salon, the Atlantic, and The Intercept, among other publications. He is also the editor of JFKfacts.org.Jeff joins the show to talk about the history of the CIA and also his new book, The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton.

James Corbett & Vinnie Caggiano return to the show to talk about lost civilizations, Rosewell, the Phoenix Lights, ETs, UFOs and much more.James Corbett is a researcher, filmmaker, writer, historian, podcaster, & creator of The Corbett Report, which is an independent, listener-supported alternative news source. Vinnie Caggiano is a composer, musician who has played all over the country, music teacher, music theorist, creator of the popular YouTube channel YouTube.com/VinCognito, which has playlists of his solo performances, performances with his bands; The Blue Kind & The Venice Roasters, he also has a playlist analyzing Beatles music from a Music Theory perspective and many Music Theory videos.

Nick Bryant is an investigative journalist & author. Nick joins us to talk about his book The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal. Nick's book covers The Franklin Scandal which involves child trafficking, pedophilia, black mail, mysterious deaths, corruption & cover-ups. From FBI & CIA, to high ranked politicians & the wealthy elite, The Franklin Scandal covers who was involved & who help cover-up one of the darkest & saddest stories of child abuse & corruption in American History.Nick Bryant's writing has recurrently focused on the plight of disadvantaged children in the United States, and he’s been published in numerous national journals, including the Journal of Professional Ethics, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and Journal of School Health. He is the co-author of America’s Children: Triumph of Tragedy, addressing the medical and developmental problems of lower socioeconomic children in America. He has also contributed a chapter on child trafficking to Global Perspectives on Dissociative Disorders: Individual and Societal Oppression, a book addressing various facets of dissociative disorders that features chapters from an international group of psychiatrists and psychologists.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Brian Stone is a musician, writer & thinker. He is the vocalist and plays guitar in the political Southern California metal band CONTORTION, a band with a message. We talk everything from music & philosophy to history & current events. Check out CONTORTION's new album False Flag Paradigm.Vinnie Caggiano is a composer, musician who has played all over the country, music teacher, music theorist, creator of the popular YouTube channel YouTube.com/VinCognito, which has playlists of his solo performances, performances with his bands; The Blue Kind & The Venice Roasters, he also has a playlist analyzing Beatles music from a Music Theory perspective and many Music Theory videos.

This bonus episode of The Ripple Effect Podcast, host Ricky Varandas is interviewed by Shah Jahan Boorooshoo from Ghizar, Northern Areas, Pakistan.