I have created a new blog, the Robert Ingersoll Blog, at http://robertingersoll.blogspot.com/, containing the full text of several Robert G. Ingersoll speeches. I know that this information is available elsewhere on the internet, but you know how websites come and go, so this could be a valuable resource if others are unavailable.



I also have created a personal blog, for what it's worth, The Blog that Nobody Read, at http://blogthatnobodyread.blogspot.com/. It contains items I have found of interest to myself, which may be of interest to others. I try to emphasize critical thinking, and I generally avoid political comments, not because I have no political opinions, but more because, like almost everyone else, my opinions on political matters are more emotion-driven than logical, and therefore of little use to others. I do like to include outrages and absurdities of religion, with a special emphasis on "the religion of peace." I have thrown in a few humorous articles too.


Thanks for listening. I hope to do fresh recordings later this year. Meanwhile, I will re-publish some past recordings that newer listeners may not have heard. According to hipcast.com, I am still getting around 2500 downloads per day. I am amazed that there has been this much interest.

Technical difficulties.
I have started to experience a very annoying clicking noise, like static, in my recordings. I spent over an hour the other day, and only recorded 8 minutes of clear speech. I am trying to diagnose and fix the problem. As soon as I get things working right again, I will be able to complete and release "Heretics and Heresies". Sorry for the delay.

Next Podcast: Heretics and Heresies.

This is just an FYI. I am recording "Heretics and Heresies", a speech from 1874. I hope to have the time to finish it this weekend. I discovered that my voice sounds best if I record in the early morning. Since I have a regular job, I can only do that on weekends (unless I start going to bed at 8PM, which is not going to happen).

If you would like to read the Ingersoll speeches (for free), a collection of them exists at http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/ . These are scanned from the original printed editions and processed with OCR software (I assume, because of the errors), and occasionally, some of the words are wrong, but not too many.

I found a great Robert Ingersoll CD for sale on eBay. It contains the entire historical works of Ingersoll, plus a biography and miscellaneous interesting stuff related to Ingersoll. It is all in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Just go to eBay and search on "Robert Ingersoll". Hopefully, it will still be offered. I think it comes from www.Bank-of-Wisdom.com.

December 5, 2006
A Brief Announcement
Thank you, all, who have been subscribing and listening to my podcast.
I have enjoyed doing these readings, and intend to continue for the foreseeable future.
I have been trying to release at least one reading per week, but most of the shorter pieces have been done.
This leaves several very long speeches. My time is more limited now than when I began this project.
I am not a flawless reader.
As I record these readings, I make mistakes, which I immediately correct if I notice them.
Every few minutes, I stop recording and I go back to clean up the recording, to remove these mistakes.
The process is similar to editing a text document, except it takes a very long time.
The remaining speeches that I intend to do are quite long, probably one to two hours each.
In order to record these, it takes a large amount of my time.
I would estimate that for each hour of final product, I put in 3 to 4 hours of time.
For this reason, and because of my limited available time, I will be releasing new recordings much less frequently than before.
The podcast will continue, but I will not be able to release new readings every week.
Some recordings may take me 3 or 4 weeks to get together.
So, for those of you who really enjoy these, please don't panic. Just be patient.
Thank you.

Voiceover Lessons

At the advice of some listeners, I have found a voiceover coach. My goal is to make these speeches come alive and become as interesting and exciting as they were originally. There is no way to know exactly how these speeches were delivered, but the very fact that some of them were over two hours long indicates that Ingersoll was a captivating speaker. Who today would sit through a two hour speech without being forced to?

It all depends of course, on the subject and the speaker, or rather the manner of presentation. I am not a professional, and may never be, but I want these recordings to be as professional as I am capable of. As I learn new techniques, and apply them to these readings, I may become guilty of overdoing the techniques I learn, like a young actor learning his craft. I ask your indulgence if I do overdo it, and your constructive criticisms, especially from anyone who speaks for a living or has other specific skills in the area of reading, storytelling, teaching, lecturing, public speaking, etc. I certainly don't want to sound ridiculous, because the subject matter is so important.

My podcasting host, audioblog.com, or hipcast.com as it is now called, offers me unlimited bandwidth, but limits my disk space (unless I pay more money). When I get near my disk space limits I will be taking older recordings off of the list. As time permits, I will re-record some of these, with the intention of making them more enjoyable and listenable. I will then re-introduce these new (and hopefully, improved) versions into the rotation.

My release dates are irregular because some recordings take longer than others, obviously, and I publish them as they are completed. There is some audio editing and re-recording involved, to correct misspoken words (although some might dispute that) and extraneous noises that get into the recordings (like my dogs barking). This editing, although minimal, is still time-consuming. A one-hour reading, for example, may take me close to two hours to record, and another hour and a half to edit. I am learning as I go. My point is, that like everyone else, sometimes my daily life interferes with my latest obsession (this podcast), and the recordings come at uneven intervals.

Thank you, everyone, first for listening, and second, for your support and encouragement. I thought that if I could bring the words of Ingersoll to life today, it might influence and inspire someone or many people to make the world better by eliminating or reducing superstition. I would love to see his words translated into foreign languages and presented in audio format to people in other countries throughout the world.

This is not meant to say that Ingersoll was a saint. All humans have their flaws, and most of us have at one time or another held incorrect opinions, based on incomplete information, or just plain ignorance and prejudice. I am sure he had his faults too. I don't know; I am not an Ingersoll scholar. But what I love about him is that he says, in an eloquent way, what most thinking people have thought. He gives us courage to speak up and say "that makes no sense at all" when someone makes a ridiculous claim. He reminds us of our right to think for ourselves, about everything, and to make up our own minds. He loved truth, and justice, and liberty. So do I. And I hope you do also.

Thanks, Penn.

I would like to thank Penn Jillette for turning me on to Robert Ingersoll. I listen to the Penn Radio podcast on a more-or-less regular basis, because it is always entertaining, and often very educational and intellectual. One day, a few months ago, he mentioned Robert Ingersoll. I was curious, because I had never heard of Ingersoll. I then started searching on the internet and found his speeches and writings at http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/. I was amazed, to say the least. Upon further research I discovered Ingersoll's amazing popularity and influence in the 19th century. What bothers me, of course, is why isn't he in every American high school history book? The obvious answer that comes to mind is that his ideas are very much against establishment religions, especially Christianity, so he is suppressed. I think also, that since he never held prominent national political office, he was probably considered not important enough to include.

So, thank you, Penn Jillete for the enlightenment.


James Carr


Check out the Penn Radio website at http://pennradio.com/.

I thought I should direct you to the written works of Robert Ingersoll. He is represented in many places on the internet, but I use http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/.

Also, here is the xml for the podcast:

(To be honest, I'm not sure how the xml tags work; I get my podcasts through iTunes.)