Ep 786: Mark Barden • Ray Nowosielski & Dave Cassidy

Mark Barden of Sandy Hook Promise, an organization he helped found after the killing of his son at the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, is the guest. He discusses a new documentary called “A Father’s Promise” in which he participated & which is currently screening in NYC. Also, the team behind the new podcast “George Bailey Was Never Born”, Ray Nowosielski & Dave Cassidy.

Mark Barden of Sandy Hook Promise, an organization he helped found after the killing of his son at the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, is the guest. He discusses a new documentary called “A Father’s Promise” in which he participated & which is currently screening in NYC. Also, the team behind the new podcast “George Bailey Was Never Born”, Ray Nowosielski & Dave Cassidy.

The film “A Father’s Promise” tells the story of professional musician Mark Barden whose life changed instantly when his son Daniel was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary and features Sheryl Crow (also the film’s Executive Producer), Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town with music by John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrision and Steve Winwood. The documentary will have a NYC theatrical run at the Look Cinemas beginning Friday, December 8th. This past Thursday, 12/7, Artist for Action, an advocacy group which aims to prevent gun violence, hosted a concert to celebrate the launch of “A Father’s Promise”. Musical Director Jimmy Vivino along with Barden of The Promise Band lead this multi-artist benefit concert featuring Sheryl Crow, Peter Frampton, Kevin Bacon, Bernie Williams, Rozzi, The Dumes, The Alternate Routes, Jen Chapin, Aztec Two-Step 2.0 and special guests. This one-of-a-kind show was filmed as a docu-concert and will tell a story through video and live performances. The beneficiary of the event is Sandy Hook Promise.

The team behind a new podcast called “George Bailey Was Never Born“, Ray Nowosielski and Dave Cassidy both make their first appearance on the podcast. The podcast takes a definitive look at “It’s a Wonderful Life”, one of the most popular movies of all time, the story of Americans’ decades-long love affair with this cultural institution and how it may offer a light down the path we walk today, all 10 episodes available Nov 21, 2023. Created by Kurt Engfehr, the editor-producer of Oscar- and Palme d’Or-winning documentaries, and Nowosielski, 2022 NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Podcast, the series is a co-production of iHeartMedia and Double Asterisk, in association with True Stories. Narrated by a familiar angel, he takes listeners back and forth between the part of the multiverse where the events of “Wonderful Life” really happened and our own, one where George Bailey was never born!