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Fellow Travelers Season 1 Soundtrack

• Drama TV Series , Paramount+ , Romance TV Series , SHOWTIME , Spectrum , TV Series

Season 1 • Episode 1: ‘You’re Wonderful’ (S01E01)

Season 1 • Episode 2: ‘Bulletproof’ (S01E02)

Season 1 • episode 3: ‘hit me’ (s01e03), season 1 • episode 4: ‘your nuts roasting on an open fire’ (s01e04), season 1 • episode 5: ‘promise you won’t write’ (s01e05), season 1 • episode 6: ‘beyond measure’ (s01e06), season 1 • episode 7: ‘white nights’ (s01e07), season 1 • episode 8: ‘make it easy’ (s01e08).

Category: Drama TV Series , Paramount+ , Romance TV Series , SHOWTIME , Spectrum , TV Series

IMDB: Fellow Travelers

Paul Leonard-Morgan

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2 thoughts on “Fellow Travelers Season 1 Soundtrack”

It’s minute 26 of episode 2: “Kiss of Fire” sung by Noah Ricketts when Marcus is waiting for Hawk in the bar. It’s HAUNTING me. I found old recordings (Catarina Vilente and Gibbs) but none of them sound as good. I wish i could get the whole song on Fellow Travelers soundtrack, but they only sing a half minute of the song.

hello! at the moment, the cover of the song is not yet released. in case it is eventually released, we’ll add it to our post. thank you for your patience! 🙂

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Vague Visages

Movies, tv & music • independent film criticism • soundtrack guides • forming the future • est. 2014, soundtracks of television: ‘fellow travelers’.

The Fellow Travelers soundtrack includes music by Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday. This info article contains spoilers and song details for Ron Nyswaner’s Showtime series on Paramount+ . Visit the Soundtracks of Television section for more soundtrack song listings , and then browse  cast/character summaries in the Know the Cast section.

Fellow Travelers stars Matt Bomer as Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller, a closeted U.S. deputy counsel in the 1950s. Jonathan Bailey co-stars as Tim Laughlin, an aide for U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. The storyline follows the main protagonists’ romantic ups and downs over the course of several decades. Composer Paul Leonard-Morgan ( Limitless ) scored the Showtime series; music supervisors Michael Perlmutter ( Billy the Kid ) and Mikaila Simmons ( Diggstown ) picked the featured needle-drops. Here’s every song in Fellow Travelers , an adaptation of Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘Ghosts of Beirut’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 1 “You’re Wonderful”

• “ If It’s Magic” by Stevie Wonder (00:00): The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song scores the opening sequence. Marcus (Jelani Alladin) drives through a neighborhood in 1986. Hawk hosts a party.
• “ Pretend” by Nat King Cole (00:08): The music plays during an interior scene. Hawk smokes a cigarette after a sexual encounter with a man. Music plays from a speaker system.
• “ Rags to Riches” by Tony Bennett (00:18): Hawk finishes a phone call with Tim. The big band tune continues during a transition scene. Tim arrives at the office of Joe McCarthy (Chris Bauer).
• “ You Turned the Tables On Me” by Anita O’Day feat. Oscar Peterson Quartet (00:26):  Tim finishes a sexual encounter with Hawk. A transition scene begins. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song  plays as Hawk arrives at Tim’s home with a gift.
• “Easy Does It ” by Oscar Peterson (00:38): Tim visits Hawk’s home. Music plays from a speaker system. Tim touches a couch.
• “ T’aint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” by Billie Holiday (00:42): An interior scene begins. Tim arrives at a social event. He talks to Joseph Alsop (Dan Lett).
• “ Blues at Twilight” by Art Pepper (00:46): The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song accompanies a bar sequence. Tim speaks to Hawk. He inquires about his relationship status.
• “ Only You” by Steve Monite (00:58):  A San Francisco scene begins. Hawk visits a diner and calls Tim. Music plays from the speaker system.
• “I Couldn’t Say It to Your Face ” by Arthur Russell (01:01:00):  The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘Waco: The Aftermath’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 2 “Bulletproof”

• “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” by Cast (00:03):  A diner scene concludes. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song continues during a transition sequence. Hawk and colleagues sing to Senator Smith.
• “The Train Kept a-Rollin'” by Tiny Bradshaw (00:20): Tim rests in his bedroom. He gets up and visits the home of Mary (Erin Neufer). Tim meets an underground group.
• “Four” by Miles Davis Quartet (00:43): Hawk talks to Tim. He plays a record. Tim argues with Hawk.
• “Walk the Night” by Skatt Bros (00:44):  Tim finishes a phone call. He walks through a night club. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song plays from the speaker system.
• “Blue and Grey Shirt” by American Music Club (00:57): The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘George & Tammy’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 3 “Hit Me”

• “Mad About the Boy” by Chelsea Russell & Andy Milne (00:06):  Hawk finishes a conversation with Lucy. The music continues during a club scene. A singer performs the Fellow Travelers soundtrack song .
• “Lover Come Back to Me” by Nat King Cole (00:13): Marcus talks to Frankie about their relationship. The music continues during a transition scene. Hawk drives a green vehicle and arrives at the Nomad Bar with Tim.
• “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes” by Perry Como (00:15): A Nomad Bar scene continues. Hawk plays darts with Tim. Music plays from the speaker system.
• “Please Love Me” by B.B. King (00:15):  Hawk arrives at a motel room. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song plays from a speaker system. Hawk checks on a friend.
• “Ain’t This a Wonderful Day” by Anita O’Day (00:21): Tim waits for Hawk at the Nomad Bar. Music plays from the speaker system. Tim kisses a man in a bathroom.
• “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps” by Cast (00:30): Tim gets tipsy during a dinner scene. Hawk vows to cut him off. Tim spontaneously starts singing to accordion music.
• “The Great Pretender” by Freddie Mercury (00:57): Hawk talks about his sexual history. He prepares for an HIV test. The track scores the episode’s final moments and end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘Let the Right One In’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 4 “Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire”

• “Dig That Crazy Santa Claus” by Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers (00:12): An interior scene begins. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song plays as David Schine (Matt Visser) makes a phone call. He talks to Roy Cohn (Will Brill) about a weekend pass.
• “Good Morning Blues” by Count Basie and His Orchestra (00:25): Tim gives a Christmas gift to Hawk. Music plays from a speaker system. Hawk thanks Tim for an “elegant” tie.
• “Heartache” by Violent Femmes (00:34): Tim finishes a phone call with Lucy. The music continues during a transition scene. Hawk visits a bar.
• “Santa Baby” by Cast (00:47): The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song is featured during a club scene. Frankie performs a tune in drag. He wears a red and white outfit.
• “The Christmas Blues” by Dean Martin (00:53): Marcus and Frankie share an intimate moment. The music continues during a transition scene. Lucy smiles while wearing a red dress.
• “Silent Night” by Klaus Nomi (00:56): The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘American Gigolo’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 5 “Promise You Won’t Write”

• “Speak Low (When You Speak, Love)” by Cast (00:03): Hawk walks down a street. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song continues during a transition scene. Stormé (Chelsea Russell) performs with a jazz band.
• “Leap Frog” by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie (00:04): The track scores an interior scene. Police officers raid a night club. Marcus flees with Frankie.
• “Out” by Steven Grossman (00:56): The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘Super Pumped’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 6 “Beyond Measure”

• “Pictures of Matchstick Men” by Status Quo (00:02): Tim talks to Hawk about being a convicted felon. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song continues during a transition scene. Tim arrives at Baltimore’s Selective Service Office in 1968.
• “The Letter” by The Box Tops (00:06): Hawk finishes a conversation with Lucy. The music continues during a transition scene. Tim travels on a bus.
• “Your Tender Lips” by The Merced Blue Notes (00:07): Marcus reads a note from Frankie. Music plays from a speaker system. Marcus talks to Cynthia (Zarrin Darnell-Martin).
• “I Thank You” by Sam & Dave (00:35): Hawk and Lucy host a party. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song plays from a speaker system. Hawk says, “Here we go. Come on.”
• “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” by Cast (00:50): Marcus speaks to Frankie. He inquires about a trip to San Francisco. Marcus briefly sings a lyric from the song.
• “Loving Grows Up Slow” by Sylvester (00:54): The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘The Curse’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 7 “White Nights”

• “Boys Keep Swinging” by David Bowie (00:02): The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song scores the opening sequence. A 1978 montage begins. Diane Feinstein announces the death of Harvey Milk.
• “Relight My Fire” by Dan Hartman (00:06): The track accompanies an interior montage. Hawk sniffs a substance. He enjoys a private moment.
• “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by Thelma Houston (00:10): Tim stands outside a bathroom door at Fire Island. Music plays from a speaker system. Hawk groans and says, “I’m fine.”
• “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester (00:25): Tim looks outside a window. The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song plays as Fire Island guests enjoy some pool time. The music plays again at 00:49.
• “Found a Cure” by Ashford & Simpson (00:28): A Fire Island sequence continues. Hawk spray paints Tim’s chest. The characters dance with fellow guests.
• “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer (00:31): Jerome (Jude Wilson) visits a health center. The track continues during a transition scene. Tim attends a Fire Island dance party.
• “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic (00:35): Tim argues with Craig (Morgan Lever). The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song kicks in Hawk calms the men down. The characters enjoy a threesome.
• “They Are Falling All Around Me” by Michael Callen with Chris Williamson, Holly Near (00:56): The track scores the end credits.

Read More at VV — Soundtracks of Television: ‘Rabbit Hole’

Fellow Travelers Soundtrack: Every Song in Episode 8 “Make It Easy”

• “I Look at You” by Johnny Mathis (00:39): Hawk thinks about the past. The music continues during a flashback scene. Hawk dances in the nude with Tim.
• “I Can Dream About You” by Cast (00:52): An interior scene begins. Hawk attends a gala event. Musicians perform a Dan Hartman cover song.
• “Love Is Overtaking Me” by Arthur Russell (01:00:00):  Tim crashes a gala event with Jerome and Marcus. Their group shouts, “Out government is killing us! AIDS funding now!” The Fellow Travelers soundtrack song continues during a montage sequence.

Q.V. Hough ( @QVHough ) is Vague Visages’ founding editor.

Categories: 2020s , Drama , Music , Romance , Showtime Originals , Soundtracks of Television , Streaming Originals , TV

Tagged as: 2023 Miniseries , American Music Club , Andy Milne , Anita O'Day , Art Pepper , Arthur Russell , Ashford & Simpson , B.B. King , Billie Holiday , Charlie Parker , Chelsea Russell , Chris Williamson , Composer , Count Basie and His Orchestra , Dan Hartman , David Bowie , Dean Martin , Dizzy Gillespie , Donna Summer , Drama TV , Episode Song List , Episode Soundtrack List , Fellow Travelers , Freddie Mercury , Funkadelic , Holly Near , Johnny Mathis , Jonathan Bailey , Klaus Nomi , Matt Bomer , Michael Callen , Michael Perlmutter , Mikaila Simmons , Miles Davis Quartet , Miniseries , Music Supervisor , Musicians , Nat King Cole , Needle-drops , Needledrops , Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers , Oscar Peterson Quartet , Paramount , Paul Leonard-Morgan , Perry Como , Q.V. Hough , Romance TV , Ron Nyswaner , Sam & Dave , Score , Showtime , Showtime Miniseries , Skatt Bros. , Song List , Soundtrack List , Soundtrack Song , Soundtrack Songs , Status Quo , Steve Monite , Steven Grossman , Stevie Wonder , Streaming , Streaming on Paramount , Streaming on Showtime , Sylvester , Television , Television Music , Television Songs , Television Soundtrack , The Box Tops , The Merced Blue Notes , Thelma Houston , Timecodes , Tiny Bradshaw , Tony Bennett , TV Music , TV Series , TV Show , TV Singers , TV Songs , TV Soundtrack , Violent Femmes

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How Fellow Travelers Fit Decades of Queer History Into 75 Seconds

The Showtime drama spans the Lavender Scare to the AIDS crisis. Using real photos and footage, its opening title sequence offers a different kind of crash course in queer visibility.

Fellow Travelers , by Thomas Mallon

Nested within that challenge was another, less often discussed part of creating a TV series: putting together an opening title sequence that introduces the themes, tone, and visual language of a show to the viewer in just a minute or so. Done right, opening credits can say a lot about the series they herald. The opening of The Crown shows an actual crown being meticulously forged from metal and inlaid with gemstones; Game of Thrones gave viewers a literal lay of the land, swooping over a map of Westeros as names of cast and crew faded in and out. If covering 30 years of queer history in under eight hours was a game of artful storytelling and editing, creating the opening credits was a side quest, a speed run. “It’s 75 seconds that occupied four months of my life,” says Nyswaner.

Early on, Nyswaner, along with director and executive producer Dan Minahan, thought about the concept of redaction. The series opens amid the Lavender Scare, an offshoot of the anti-communist Red Scare in which gay workers in the government and military—who were already living double lives and hiding their sexualities—became targets of Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy’s moral panic. People lost their careers, their livelihoods, their social networks, and worse. Coworkers were encouraged to rat each other out. Men could come under risk of firing and humiliation if their officemates thought they seemed effete. Women could be dismissed for rejecting the wrong man’s advances or even not wearing enough makeup. All of this could be considered evidence of their “deviant” sexuality.

Nyswaner and Minahan imagined photos of queer people being redacted by the same bold, black lines that would mark up a classified document. The obscured imagery evokes an era in which gay men and women—and nonbinary and trans people, before such terminology existed—were pushed further into the darkness.

But then, as the credits continue, the redactions are erased, revealing scenes of what Nyswaner calls “gay sexuality and liberation,” reflecting a joy that was always part of the story, even if it was hidden away and guarded. “It grew naturally from that idea of covering and uncovering,” he says. “Which is what our show is about.”

As they conceptualized their vision, Minahan started saving images into his phone here and there. “Eventually, I had one of those little photo slideshows that iPhone makes you, and I set it to a work of countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and Philip Glass. We all kind of fell in love with it,” he says. “Then of course we brought in the really skilled people to create the real thing.” (Those people being Toronto-based video production company Iamstatic and the show’s own composer, Paul Leonard-Morgan.)

Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s–1950s

As with Mallon’s novels, Nyswaner’s adaptation focuses on verisimilitude . The production hired a researcher, Louis Gropman . Quotes that real-life characters like McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and David Schine gave on the public record are relayed verbatim onscreen. For the credits, Nyswaner and Minahan began hunting for contemporaneous photos and footage of real queer couples.

“It was essential,” says Nyswaner. “Because it lends the show authenticity. These are real people whose lives we’re making historical fiction about. To see that at the beginning of the episodes reminds you that this isn’t a story that someone has entirely imagined. The show isn’t asking, ‘What if life was like this?’ The show is saying , ‘This is what life was like.’”

As he and Minahan began sourcing images and footage, they found “many queer collaborators,” Nyswaner says. Some photos came from Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s–1950s , a collection of photos of queer couples curated by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, themselves a gay couple.

Minahan found a 1954 film short called Nus Masculins by queer, experimental French filmmaker François Reichenbach on YouTube, and set out to find out who now owned it. Once he tracked down Reichenbach’s cousin in France, Nyswaner wrote her an impassioned note, and she said her cousin, who died in 1993, would have been honored. The film lent some of Nyswaner’s favorite footage to the opening credits. “There’s something so innocent about it,” he says. “The boys jumping into the ocean have an exuberant kind of undefined sexuality, which I think is really beautiful.” (Not as innocent are clips from the famous 1972 gay porno Bijou. )

Fellow Travelers explores the experiences of Black and non-white queer characters, too, and Nyswaner learned that photos of gay Black couples were “not as plentiful as photographs of white people, of white couples,” he says. “That was something we had to look hard for.” The double stigmas of racism and homophobia may have made it even harder for gay Black people to feel safe committing to physical photographs of themselves living openly with a gay friend or lover. But he made sure to seek out and include such images.

And for a select few images he wasn’t able to get the rights to, Nyswaner re-created them, with the help of friends as models. One, a close-up of two men kissing, became an essential centerpiece of the sequence—the actual title card over which the words Fellow Travelers first appear — emphasizing a kind of in-your-face boldness that simply being seen allows.

The other bold centerpiece? When Nyswaner’s “Created for television by” credit appears superimposed right on top of a man’s crotch. “That,” he says, laughing, “was a personal request.”

Nojan Aminosharei is the Entertainment Director of Men’s Health and the Special Projects Editor of Harper’s Bazaar. He was previously the Entertainment Director of Hearst Digital Media, and before that a Senior Editor at GQ. Raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nojan graduated from NYU with a master’s degree in magazine journalism. The late Elaine Stritch once told him, “What the fuck kind of name is Nojan? I’m 89 years old, I don’t have time for that shit.”

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Screen Rant

Fellow travelers interview: composer paul leonard-morgan on forbidden love.

Fellow Travelers composer Paul Leonard-Morgan discusses his work creating a lush and emotional score for Ron Nyswaner’s new Showtime series.

• Fellow Travelers is a show that depicts a forbidden love story across several decades, focusing on the Lavender Scare of the 1950s.
• BAFTA-winning composer Paul Leonard-Morgan created a unified score for the show, incorporating a distinct and rich sound to evoke emotion and key moments from past decades.
• The collaboration between the show's creator, Ron Nyswaner, and Leonard-Morgan led to a close-knit and supportive team that resulted in a remarkable and deeply fulfilling experience.

Fellow Travelers is a Showtime show that tells a story of forbidden love across the course of decades. The show was based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon but was adapted for the screen under the leadership of Ron Nyswaner, who created, co-wrote, and produced the series. Fellow Travelers stars Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey as political staffers Hawkins Fuller and Timothy Laughlin (respectively) who begin and maintain a secret relationship.

To bring emotion to Fellow Travelers’ exploration of the Lavender Scare and more key moments from past decades, the filmmakers enlisted BAFTA-winning composer Paul Leonard-Morgan. Paul Leonard-Morgan is an incredibly versatile composer whose previous work includes Boston Strangler , Limitless , and Cyberpunk 2077 . For Fellow Travelers, Leonard-Morgan crafted a unified score with a distinct and rich sound.

Fellow Travelers Cast & Character Guide

Paul Leonard-Morgan spoke with Screen Rant about working with other composers, the show’s key themes, and more.

Paul Leonard-Morgan On Fellow Travelers

Screen Rant: I’ve seen the reviews of this show; it must feel good.

Paul Leonard-Morgan: It's going to be one of those Marmite--Marmite is this spread in the UK, which people either love or hate. I say this just because none of my mates over here know what the hell it is. Every time I put a load in a suitcase, they go, "Why have you bought that over? It's disgusting." The others are like, "Give it here.” Fellow Travelers, I just freaking adored. It was one of those very rare things where you get such a close team of collaborators that you would do anything for them. Ron Nyswaner, the showrunner, creator, and writer, phoned me up last year and he'd sent me a load of stuff and said, "Here, this is what it's about" and stuff. Historically, I found it fascinating. [It was] also incredibly challenging writing music for so many sex scenes, but also the romance and the love, without being totally schmaltzy. Trying to work all of that out was just fantastic, and he was so supportive. It was just this wonderful, wonderful experience. At the end of six months, I felt empty, and Ron said he had exactly the same feeling. He was there on every day of the shoot, he came to the recording sessions, he did all this… it was like a close family, and he had the same with the actors. By the end of it, it’s just like, “I don't know what to do with my life now.” It doesn't happen that much. I had it on Tales From the Loop, which is a soundtrack I did with Philip Glass, but it happens very rarely that you have this meeting of minds. It's such a wonderful collaboration.

It’s funny that you said that; do you find romance scenes harder or sex scenes harder to write for? Or is it just going from one to the other?

Paul Leonard-Morgan: I find romance hard because I find [with] most of the romance scenes that you see on any film or TV, it's just cheesy. I don't do cheese. There are so many people that do it well; I just can't do it. But [Ron and I] spoke about it to begin with and we said, "Look, it's not actually about ‘love’; it was about sex." When you treat it like that, it is a completely different dynamic. The music in this series is really bold and it's really up there and the mix, so it's three-minute sequences where there's no dialogue and the music is much more about the rhythm of the sex scene. In general, it was much more about the rhythm of it. It was much more about the aggression behind a lot of the scenes. It was much more about that than the tenderness. And there are plenty of tender moments in the series, but because a lot of it is about unrequited love or forbidden love, it's not the same as having some cheesy love scene between them.

I recently rewatched your episode of The Big Score about Boston Strangler , and it was very, very cool to hear how much intention you put behind the instrumentation and how that evolves throughout your score. Did you have a similar mindset with this?

Paul Leonard-Morgan: Yeah, completely. A lot of people just go, "Oh, it's music.” It's like, “No, you've totally got to have a mindset when you go into a soundtrack.” You've got to go into a soundtrack thinking about what it is you're trying to achieve. Going into this, I said to Ron, "I can totally see this as a piano-led soundtrack." Then, as I started writing a couple of tunes, I was like, “Right, it's piano and quartet, but it's not a big f***-off orchestra, because I think it's going to overpower this.” There are a lot of tears in this series, and it's so intimate. I was like, "If we have a quartet, a piano, a harp, and a bass flute, and the bass flute came in later, that's almost like the band." You’ve got to write with that in your thought process, rather than going, "What's this scene? What's this scene? What's this scene?" You've got to have this flow to it. We recorded at United Recording Studios because they have these wonderful chambers. It’s just a room where they stick in microphones, and they pipe whatever you’re recording into these different size rooms; and they're all at different angles. It's the original reverbs, the original plates, and then they record that sound and pipe it back, but it sounds completely different to what you’re putting in on your computer or your Apple gear, or whatever. It's the authentic reverb. It's like going into a church and recording it. So, United has these wonderful chambers and it just became a part of the sound. We [also] had to use the same quartet, because every single time you're using them, it's the sound of Tim; it's the sound of Hawk. The cello comes out every time you hear Tim, and it’s this wonderful instrument, but if it was recorded in a different studio, it would've sounded completely different. We had a total nightmare because we were booking all these sessions months in advance because we needed to be in that particular room--it was the Beach Boys room--and then they f****** shut United. I said, "Please, please, I've got one session left, please," so they very kindly let us in. So, we had the final ever recording session at United Recording, which in one sense makes me feel exceedingly proud. The other sense makes me feel exceedingly sad because it's the end of an era.

You have all of this organic stuff as you were just describing, but was there anything you wanted to sneak in there that was a little weirder?

Paul Leonard-Morgan: Yes. Fellow Travelers switches from period to period to period. It starts off in the sixties, then heads off to the eighties, and then back to the seventies, so it really flips between it all. It’s like, “You could mark that out with a score by suddenly making it feel modern for the sake of feeling modern, but you're not going to have any continuity of sound, which is going to feel disjointed." Whereas the [licensed] music choices almost place you in that era. It gets to the kind of seventies psychedelia, and the eighties disco stuff, [and] I'm watching it for the first time with them all, going, "I don't want to put score here. This is Donna Summer track is great." My pitch to them was like, "We do need to bring it up", but it's not a case of just doing it for the sake of suddenly making it ‘80s. It was much more about putting on some synths. I ended up using a bit of Moog, a bit of the Jupiter, and the Roland, but it's still very much a quartet and piano score. [I just used] some different sounds to add a bit more modernity to it in those moments.

You've done a lot of collaborative scores with people like Philip Glass. Do you feel like those kinds of projects influence you when you go back to something you're scoring by yourself?

Paul Leonard-Morgan: Yes and no. The Pigeon Tunnel was a film that I just did with Philip, and that was for Errol Morris. When I started off working with Errol, I was quite intimidated. I was like, "You've worked with Phillip Glass on three films. You've worked with Danny Elfman on one." I'm suddenly here going, like, "Am I supposed to sound like Philip? I have my own sound, but I should be doing this…” He said, "I adore your style. You've got touches of Philip, but you've also got your own style, and you've also got this, and you've got that." It's the same with me and Philip, because this is our third collaboration now. We know each other and we trust each other, so if he starts doing some chords underneath my tune, or if I start doing some chords underneath his tune, or however it works, it's just that mutual respect for each other. Then, when you go back and do your next project, or you're working on something at the same time, it's not a case of, "[This is] suddenly Nick Phillips’ theme, or Nick Phillips’ style,” [or something similar] if it was Cyberpunk with Martin and Piotr. It is much more about, “What I learned from that is [that] I'm not very good at doing that, but what I can bring to it is this.”

Every piece of music I've heard from this has been beautiful. Do you have a theme that was maybe the most rewarding to write, and how did it come together?

Paul Leonard-Morgan: I adore this score. It doesn't happen often. I mostly don't like the stuff that I've written, simply because you've heard it so many times. The theme that I came up with, I recorded on piano in my live room. I really like having people in my room to have that initial creative chat with a director or producer, [but] Ron was up in Toronto filming. I just filmed myself and I chatted them, and I'm saying, "Well, look, I was thinking this and this." I just sat and played for three minutes and said, "This is the theme. I've nailed it. I know it." I never say that. You’re supposed to sleep on it. It's like, “Never say this is good. Wait for someone else to say it's good.” I was like, "This is it. This is Tim. This is his melody. This is Hawk. And they're going at each other, and then gradually it is going to evolve. It's this loop, and then it evolves and it comes together, but it's not major and it's not minor, and it goes down." I played it, and about three hours later, I had replies from the music supervisor, [and] from Ron. He said, “I've just sent it to this person [and] this person, [and] everybody loves it. Don’t change it.” I was like, “But I didn't record it. It's only on the video.” It became the main theme. Then, when I stripped it out, it still had Tim's main theme over the top without the frenetic-ness of all the chord changes. You hear this theme more and more between episodes five, six, and seven, but when you get to the end, it's like a four-and-a-half-minute piece of music with hardly any dialogue. Ron pushed me and pushed me, to his credit. I was like, "Here you go, it's great." He's like, "No, it's good. It is not great. Go back and think about [this]." I'm so pleased he did. That was not the hardest cue, but a four-and-a-half-minute cue when there's not an awful lot happening, [is hard]. It’s the culmination of all of the themes put together, and so, it's the final one that's very heart-wrenching.

About Fellow Travelers

Based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon and set in the 1950s during the Lavender Scare, Fellow Travelers explores the romance between two men, Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey), amidst societal prejudices and political persecution.

Fellow Travelers

A Fellow-Traveller Lesson Summary Notes and Explanation in English Class 12th

Back to: UP Board Class 12th English Guide and Notes

Table of Contents

Introduction:

‘A Fellow-Traveller’ is a personal essay written by A G Gardiner. In this text, he muses about life. His views on life while travelling constitute this thought-provoking essay. 

About the Author:

Alfred George Gardiner (1865-1946) was an English essayist. He was also a notable author and journalist. He edited ‘The Daily News’ in London for seventeen long years. Famous works of him include ‘Priests and Kings’, ‘Leaves in Wind’ and ‘Pebbles on the Shore’.

The theme of this essay revolves around the magnanimity. The author compares his journey in the train with life in general where he reflects on the humane-nature or the lack thereof in humans. Solitude is also a major theme that can be found in the essay where the author derives pleasure and the sense of freedom from it.

The essay begins with the author travelling in a train compartment alone. He describes the train in detail, including the agreeable noise it makes. He also describes how freeing it is to travel in a train unnoticed. A description of the day and the beauty of the sky follows. The author paints a picture of leisure in these lines.

The mosquito:

While the author had originally assumed himself to be alone, he found himself being proved wrong. A mosquito seemed to be his fellow traveller. The author finds this to be a great nuisance as he found himself constantly disturbed by its presence. Frustrated, the author tries to kill it, his attempts being vain. He takes it as a hit to his pride 

Miracle of life:

Slowly, there is a shift in his thoughts as the author finds himself admiring the persistence of the mosquito. He decides that he would regain his prestige if he rather lets the mosquito live for magnanimity, he feels, is the greatest virtue of humanity. Despite the temptation to kill, he lets the mosquito to live, going about his own way.

Conclusion:

These thoughts of A G Gardiner are a reflection of life. In the pursuit of petty pleasures such as revenge and regaining honour, humans lose their greatest virtue- magnanimity. The author, by letting the mosquito free, urges the readers to let go of vile thoughts in a similar way. 

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To Make ‘Fellow Travelers,’ Ron Nyswaner Had to Fall in Love

The new drama, which follows a gay romance over several decades, is the first TV series created by the Oscar-winning writer of “Philadelphia.”

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By Alexis Soloski

Ron Nyswaner, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated screenwriter, can still recall a chance meeting on a beach more than 50 years ago. Then a teenager and a self-described “Jesus freak,” he’d come to Ocean City, N.J., to attend a Youth for Christ conference. Late one night, he said, while walking alone, he saw “a gorgeous, muscular guy” across the sand.

That young man asked him to speak in tongues — it was an invitation to religious ecstasy and nothing more. Nyswaner complied. He told me this story over lunch in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, on a stormy afternoon in September, as a way to explain that, for him, “sex and the sacred have always been united.”

He wanted that same union for “Fellow Travelers,” a new series that premieres Friday on Paramount+ and then on Showtime on Sunday.

Moving back and forth from the early 1950s to the late ’80s, “Fellow Travelers,” based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, is a précis of 20th-century queer history viewed through a turbulent relationship between two men. Matt Bomer (“White Collar,” “Magic Mike”) stars as Hawkins Fuller, Hawk to his intimates, a State Department employee. Jonathan Bailey (“Bridgerton”) plays Tim Laughlin, a milk-drinking, God-loving naïf who dreams of working for Senator Joseph McCarthy .

As they tumble through the decades — in and out of bed, in and out of love — the lavender scare , the gay liberation movement and the AIDS crisis happen around and through them.

Nyswaner, who was dressed in all black save for a tan raincoat, claims to dislike love stories. “Yuck!” he said. (The two chunky rings he wore, mementos of former relationships, may have belied this.) But his genius resides in making the political feel shockingly intimate. Despite its many congressional hearings, “Fellow Travelers” is a love story, one illustrated with some of television’s most screen-fogging queer sex scenes. The first time Nyswaner read the novel, he fell in love with Tim and Hawk. It was that love — sexual, sacred — that inspired him to make the series, the first he has created for television.

Nyswaner, 67, grew up in small-town Pennsylvania. Gay and closeted, he was an outsider as a child, an observer. That, he believes, is what made him a writer. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he enrolled in Columbia’s film school. While still a student there, he slipped a script to the director Jonathan Demme. Demme optioned it, and Nyswaner has supported himself as a writer ever since.

His first major success came in 1993 with “Philadelphia,” directed by Demme, the story of Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a lawyer who believes he has been wrongfully terminated by his firm because of his AIDS diagnosis. (Nyswaner, whose script earned him an Oscar nomination, makes a cameo in a party scene dressed as a priest.)

By that time, Nyswaner was in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction. In the five years after the film’s release, newly flush with fame and cash, his addiction worsened.

“I dedicated myself to cocaine and alcohol and sex, with tragic results,” he said. (He details this tragedy, which involves the suicide of a sex worker, in his 2004 memoir , “Blue Days, Black Nights.”)

There was heat on him in Hollywood then. But he showed up to more than one meeting high on methamphetamines, and the heat dissipated. Which didn’t especially bother him. Having found success early, he has rarely been swayed by the demands of the market.

“I always just wanted to write what I wanted,” he said.

Newly sober, he proved this. He scripted the 2003 true-crime Showtime film “Soldier’s Girl,” about an Army private’s relationship with a transgender cabaret performer, and followed that with the 2006 adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s doomed romance, “The Painted Veil.” Neither was intended for mainstream success, but these works had the heartbreak he loved, the passionate intensity.

In 2012, his management team asked him what he wanted to do next. “Get me out of my house,” he told them. He had spent two decades living in upstate New York. Now, he found himself craving the crush of a big city and the camaraderie of a writers’ room. Though he had already optioned “Fellow Travelers,” he back-burnered it in favor of moving to Los Angeles and joining two Showtime series: first the punchy noir “Ray Donovan,” and then “Homeland,” the fervid espionage thriller. In 2018, when his time on “Homeland” ended, he felt ready to turn to “Fellow Travelers.”

In “Fellow Travelers,” Nyswaner expands on the themes that define much of his film work — the ways in which longing, sex and secrets intersect with the law. In the series, the historical characters and events are meticulously researched. (There are perhaps a few aesthetic lapses — did men really work out this much in the 1950s?) But Nyswaner wanted to offer something more than a history lesson. Hawk and Tim and the show’s other queer characters are intimately involved in this history, and they are not mere bystanders and victims. Occasionally, they are aggressors.

“The best thing you can do with any marginalized character is to make them as fully human and complicated as every other straight character that’s out there in the world,” he said.

Many of those complications are revealed in the sex scenes. Thirty years ago, “Philadelphia” received criticism for shying away from gay sexuality. “Fellow Travelers” is not so shy. “Perhaps I overcompensated,” he said, laughing.

Nyswaner, who has something of the provocateur in him, described a scene late in the series, a threesome that leads to a nervous breakdown, as “very much me” and “one of my proudest achievements.” (For that scene he educated the director on the uses of amyl nitrite.)

If these scenes are not especially graphic, they are unusually specific in their mapping of power and desire. Nyswaner had rules for these scenes, which were carefully choreographed and scripted. Each had to move the story forward. Each had to dramatize a power exchange. And no act could be repeated, which invited creativity in the later episodes.

The queer characters are all played by actors who openly identify as queer. “It wasn’t a requirement, but it was certainly a strong motivator for us,” Nyswaner said. He believes the casting may have contributed to the veracity and intensity of these scenes.

“I do think it might have really made a difference and made everybody more comfortable,” he said.

Nyswaner isn’t sure if writing about gay characters is a path that he chose for himself or one that the success of “Philadelphia” forged for him. Either way he is glad to walk it.

“I so love, love, love being a gay man,” he told me over lunch. “I enjoy being slightly to the side of everything.” He worries, of course, for the state of L.G.B.T.Q. rights, but he has always enjoyed this feeling of being an outsider. “Outlaw” was another term he used.

He isn’t dating anyone just now. His preference, he said, is for “unsuitable men, some of them are quite delicious.” Colleagues keep encouraging him to download a dating app, but so far he has resisted. These past few years, his primary relationship has been with Tim and Hawk, the characters he fell for a decade ago.

“I wanted to live within that relationship,” he said. “And I have.”

Alexis Soloski has written for The Times since 2006. As a culture reporter, she covers television, theater, movies, podcasts and new media. More about Alexis Soloski

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Fellow Travelers (Original Series Soundtrack)

November 3, 2023 29 Songs, 1 hour, 13 minutes ℗ Compilation (P) 2023 Milan Records, a label of Sony Music Entertainment

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On Fellow Travelers , Characters of Color Face Underexplored Challenges

By Naveen Kumar

This essay contains spoilers for Fellow Travelers.

There is a basement speakeasy in Fellow Travelers , the sweeping new Showtime historical miniseries, in which queer people are free to stop pretending. Shortly after they become furtive lovers in 1952 Washington, D.C., Matt Bomer’s Hawk, an absurdly hunky power player on the Hill, and Jonathan Bailey’s doe-eyed idealist Tim steal away to the Cozy Corner, a honey-hued Eden where they can be horny for each other away from prying eyes.

As Hawk and Tim canoodle, a bartender warns that they better be ready to cool it in case of a police raid. Looking around at the Corner’s mostly Black patrons, it’s clear that the consequences of being caught there carry a different edge for everyone. As long as the liquor and languorous jazz keep flowing, the joint is an equalizer for its queer patrons and staff. But when they are inevitably expelled from paradise, the fault lines that separate them come starkly into view.

Based on Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel of the same name, Fellow Travelers imagines its characters at inflection points in late-twentieth-century queer history, beginning with the Lavender Scare , a mass firing of gay men and women from civil service, and culminating with the government’s willful blindness to the ravages of HIV/AIDS. Bomer and Bailey are pictured at the eye of the storm throughout; Hawk lands Tim a job working for Senator Joseph McCarthy, who spearheaded the Lavender Scare, and later goes to Tim’s side in San Francisco as his health deteriorates from AIDS.

The first half of the series, which alternates between these timelines, sets up a historical irony: During the 1950s, queer people sought to make themselves invisible to state scrutiny. Three decades later, those suffering from government inaction over HIV/AIDS fought tooth and nail for visibility. McCarthy’s broader anti-communist campaign hinged on paranoia over potential dangers in the halls of power that could not be seen. Impossibly ripped beneath their dark blazers, Hawk and Tim are respectable civil servants at work but kinky lovers behind closed apartment doors, where Hawk plays dom to Tim’s milk-drinking good Catholic boy (affectionately nicknamed “Skippy’).

But only some people have ever been able to hide their queerness: Hawk and Tim are both straight-passing white men. When Hawk is investigated for possible homosexual impulses, he trains himself, using a photo of First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, to calm his heartbeat during a polygraph test (a nail-biter, but it works). Meanwhile, Marcus (Jelani Alladin), a Black journalist and friend of Hawk’s, is conscious of the fact that he faces double hurdles and focuses on the one he can’t conceal. “I’ll always be a colored man first,” says Marcus, who also passes for straight.

It’s Marcus who first brings Hawk and Tim to the Cozy Corner, where the privilege of passing they share outside the bar grows more apparent, especially with the introduction of Marcus’ eventual love interest, Frankie (Noah Ricketts). A drink-slinging drag performer, Frankie is femme in a way that wouldn’t fly, for example, at the stuffy work party the three closeted friends just ditched to go somewhere they could drop the act. The stage is where Frankie first discovered how it feels to be seen at all, after years of being overlooked or worse, ridiculed.

“When I was a kid no one noticed me, which was a good thing,” Frankie later tells Marcus. When Frankie did get noticed, it was with a curse or a smack, he continues. “But the first time I went full drag to a club, in a cheap Halloween wig and a borrowed poodle skirt, people noticed,” Frankie recalls. “They looked at me.”

But while Frankie may be admired onstage — including at a straight, white club that won’t allow Marcus inside — being visibly queer on the street has always been especially dangerous for those who are unable to hide or easily assimilate. Fellow Travelers lavishes attention on the trials of its Clark Kent-looking leads, but there are merely sporadic nods to the layered difficulties faced by those who don’t share their advantages.

John Anthony Loffredo

Quispe López

Samantha Riedel

Jennifer Culp

A fleeting but vivid example comes in the chaotic aftermath of a police raid on the Cozy Corner. Marcus and Frankie are dancing cheek-to-cheek when cops burst through the door and send everyone bolting for the exits. Frankie doubles back to grab Storme (played by Chelsea Russell), another Cozy Corner performer who appears to be the only nonbinary character depicted in the series, in a small role. As the pair stumbles into the alley, Frankie calls after Marcus, who is already several paces ahead. Marcus ignores Frankie’s cries, buttons his overcoat, and turns calmly onto the sidewalk, where he blends in with city passersby.

Hawk and Tim aren’t at the Cozy Corner that night, but Leonard (played by Mike Taylor) is on his knees in a men's room stall when police kick it open. Fortunately for Leonard, he’s the son of a senator who is Hawk’s mentor, and the brother of Hawk’s soon-to-be wife and beard Lucy (played by Allison Williams in a carousel of mesmerizing wigs). Hawk has already made a gentleman’s agreement with a patrolling officer to alert him in case Leonard, who is an overall troublemaker, gets picked up. Hawk easily gets Leonard released from custody, though keeping word of the arrest under wraps is a trickier task.

Fellow Travelers is ultimately more interested in maneuvers like these, carried out by men in suits striding between offices, trying desperately to save face. Hawk’s fixation on respectability and Tim’s struggle with faith are far more central than the threats that lurk outside the frame, out in the street, for those who cannot disguise themselves as part of the dominant culture.

As the decades pass, Marcus continues to conceal his sexuality to pursue his ambitions, knowing that as a Black man, it would be a second strike against him. Frankie, who becomes a vocal supporter of Harvey Milk , is mostly characterized as a longtime companion to Marcus. That neither of them are pictured to have any involvement with the concurrent Civil Rights movement reflects the series’ reflexively narrow focus on queer history at the expense of including broader social context.

Of course, no single narrative should be expected to do it all. But Fellow Travelers attempts a sweeping, and somewhat didactic, overview of queer history that winds up leaving out many of the same people as countless narratives have before: This is a capital-G Gay Story, with a brief lesbian subplot and little room for anyone who doesn’t adhere to conventional gender norms.

Still, the series might have found deeper resonance with the present had it followed Frankie more closely — after the night of the raid, for example, or into activist meetings in 1970s San Francisco. What was it like to be Black and femme and jostling with other activists to make the voices of the whole community heard? This isn’t Frankie’s story, or Storme’s. But theirs are long overdue to be told.

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By Daniel Spielberger

By Oliver Haug

By Kate Sosin, The 19th

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Soundtrack Information

Fellow Travelers

Milan Records

Release Date: November 3, 2023

Format: Digital

• Fellow Travelers (2023) [Miniseries]
• Paul Leonard-Morgan

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Fellow Travelers Soundtrack [ 2023 ]

Fellow Travelers

Season 1 • Episodes

You're Wonderful

29 Oct 23'

Bulletproof

5 Nov 23'

12 Nov 23'

Your Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire

19 Nov 23'

Promise You Won't Write

26 Nov 23'

Beyond Measure

3 Dec 23'

White Nights

10 Dec 23'

Make It Easy

17 Dec 23'

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Pictures of Matchstick Men

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I Look at You

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Relight My Fire - Single Version

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Boys Keep Swinging

David Bowie

Maggot Brain

Kiss of Fire

E2 • Bulletproof

Found a Cure

Ashford & Simpson

You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

John Philip Sousa

They Are Falling All Around Me

Michael Callen

Steven Grossman

E5 • Promise You Won't Write

MacArthur Park - Single Version

Donna Summer

I Thank You - LP / Single Version

Sam & Dave

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Short Story Reviews

A Fellow Traveller by A.G. Gardiner

In A Fellow Traveller by A.G. Gardiner we have the theme of uncertainty, freedom, control, generosity, appearance, equality and modesty. Taken from his Leaves in the Wind collection the reader realises from the beginning of the essay that Gardiner may be exploring the theme of uncertainty. Gardiner is unsure of when the mosquito came into the train carriage. He does not know if the mosquito arrived before him or after him. Though he does become aware of his presence and at first is irritated that the mosquito is flying around the carriage. What is also interesting is that Gardiner speaks of the freedom one feels when in a train carriage yet he does not at first afford the mosquito the same freedom. It is only after Gardiner realises that he cannot control the mosquito that modesty and generosity occurs. Shown by way of Gardiner refusing to kill the mosquito. This may be important as there is a sense that Gardiner has admitted defeat when it comes to killing the mosquito. It is only then that Gardiner shows the mosquito any magnanimity or generosity.  What is also interesting about the story is the fact that prior to noticing the mosquito, Gardiner does not take advantage of the freedom he has and which he mentions is available to him. It is possible that Gardiner is suggesting that man himself gets too busy in life to take advantage of freedom or to reflect on the simple things in life. Like availing of the opportunity to explore the benefits of having a train carriage to oneself.

Rather Gardiner allows for himself to be disturbed sufficiently by the mosquito that he tries his very best to kill the mosquito. It is as though the mosquito has infringed on Gardiner’s personal space and Gardiner does not like it nor will he permit it till he admits defeat. The fact that one of the articles in the newspaper that Gardiner is reading is called ‘Peace Traps’ may also have some symbolic significance as Gardiner has declared peace with the mosquito yet he knows that he has the perfect opportunity to kill it. The other article in the paper ‘The Modesty of Mr. Hughes’ is also symbolic as Gardiner himself is being modest when he admits defeat with the mosquito. Rather than embarrassing himself Gardiner gives the mosquito a type of equality. The two passengers are equals and as such Gardiner will not kill the mosquito. Though some critics might suggest that Gardiner has in some way humanized the mosquito it may simply be a case that Gardiner is not only modest enough to admit defeat but that he is also displaying the ability to be compassionate towards another living creature.

It is also interesting that Gardiner after he admits defeat shifts from a position of viewing the mosquito as an adversary to a fellow companion or traveller. There is a complete one eighty in Gardiner’s appraisal of the mosquito and no longer is the mosquito viewed as being something that is troublesome. This may be important as Gardiner could be suggesting that first appearances may not necessarily always be correct. Just as one may judge an individual based upon their appearance and be wrong so too has Gardiner misjudged the mosquito. If anything Gardiner could be using the mosquito as symbolism for another human passenger and how when in a confined space (the train carriage) an individual might strike up a conversation with one person but perhaps due to appearance refrain from doing so with another.

Not only has Gardiner admitted defeat when it comes to the mosquito’s presence but he has also allowed for the carriage to remain under the control of the mosquito. If anything the mosquito, unlike Gardiner, is allowed to take advantage of their environment and act to their own will. In reality the mosquito is able to express the freedom that Gardiner himself chose not to when he thought he was alone in the carriage.  Which may be one of the morals of the essay. An individual should, when the opportunity arises, take full advantage of the freedom that they see in front of themselves. Perhaps to act as the mosquito does and remain free from obstruction or societal views. The result of doing so will be that an individual will be able to express themselves to their own liking without being hindered by the constraints that society may impose on the individual. It may be better to live free while one can for the opportunity may not present itself with regular frequency. Such are the chains that man allows himself to be hindered by when it comes to what society may think.

• On Cats and Dogs by A.G. Gardiner
• A Night’s Lodging by A.G. Gardiner
• All About a Dog by A.G. Gardiner
• On Catching the Train by A.G. Gardiner
• A.G. Gardiner

Thanks it gives in that notes

But I want a short summery max. 150-200 words..

Can we have the present reflection of the essay?

What is the theme of the story

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Letters to the editor

Continue aid to Israel

This month's brazen and unprecedented attack on Israel by Iran underscores the recklessness of those who have spent the months since the Oct. 7 attack seeking to isolate Israel and undercut its defense aid.

Despite efforts by extremist activists to end support for the Jewish state, the reality on the ground is revealing. Israel's strategic alliances with the United States and encouragingly with several Arab countries have proven to be invaluable by thwarting this major attack by Iran.

The support from Israel’s allies, coupled with its robust air defense capabilities, enabled it to effectively neutralize incoming threats from several hundred missiles, rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles, thus preventing mass casualties, with the sad exception of a young Arab girl injured in the attack.

While Iran’s attack necessitated a response to maintain deterrence, this successful defense demonstrates to Iran the folly of attempting further attacks on Israel and thus prevents more conflict. This speaks volumes about the importance of maintaining strong partnerships and supporting military defense capabilities — precisely the opposite approach taken by anti-Israel activists.

As we reflect on the events of the past week, it becomes abundantly clear that attempts to undermine Israel's security are not only misguided but also detrimental to regional stability. Moving forward, it is imperative that our elected leaders understand this and dismiss those who risk an even worse conflict through their efforts to isolate and end aid to Israel.

Steven Schimmel, executive director, Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts

McGovern 'fellow traveler' for Hamas

After the Oct. 7 Hamas sneak attack that massacred and raped Jews and caused the present troubles, Congressperson Jim McGovern voted against a congressional resolution condemning Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups on college campuses that obnoxiously target Jewish students with hate speech. McGovern also voted against a second resolution condemning the pro-Hamas chant: “From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free,” knowing full well that it’s a call for the extermination of the Jewish state. That’s the Hamas version of “The Jews will not replace us.” These are the same “protesters” who are burning the Stars and Stripes as they chant “Death to America.” Finally, McGovern voted against aid to Israel.

Clearly, McGovern does not have the courage to state unequivocally the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, safe haven and necessary homeland for the Jewish people who have faced genocide throughout history, no doubt for having burdened the world with God and the Holy Scriptures.

Sadly, McGovern’s voting record confirms he’s a fellow traveler with the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party.

That’s who McGovern stands with. It’s time voters no longer stand with McGovern.

Steven Feldman, Shrewsbury

Meet Dr Lee White

Lee is driven by a commitment to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and addressing pressing environmental challenges through innovative research and policy solutions.

Can you tell me about your research background?

My background is interdisciplinary. I began my studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand (my hometown) with a major in Energy Management, where I gained an appreciation for policy problems as well as technical ones. I began examining policy and governance questions of energy transition after initially considering technological aspects of energy use and energy transition at the undergraduate level. This led to my PhD studies at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy.

After one year as a post-doc at the Ohio State University, where I collaborated with co-authors across disciplines including engineering, economics, and environmental psychology, I joined the Australian National University’s Zero Carbon for the Asia-Pacific Grand Challenge in 2019. I was part of a multidisciplinary cross-campus team examining Australia’s role in regional transition to zero carbon energy. 

My research today considers questions such as who is left out of energy transition, and how changes to regulation and governance could work to level the playing field instead of tilting it further.

Can you tell me a bit about your new Horizon Fellowship?

The University of Sydney Horizon Fellowship is an exciting chance to tackle complex problems of climate change, health, and sustainability in an internationally recognised university. In my Horizon role, I will develop a new measure that captures energy poverty in a holistic sense , in terms of peoples’ ability to live a life that they value, to make visible who is underserved by current energy systems and governance.

Energy and the services it provides are important for health, and will only become more important in the context of a warming climate. This would allow us to more fully understand how energy transition policies are changing experiences of energy poverty. It will also allow us to understand experiences of energy poverty in a changing climate.

Can you share any upcoming projects or initiatives that you'll be contributing to in the near future?

I use a range of methodological approaches, both qualitative (interviews, document reviews) and quantitative (regression analysis, panel data), to understand emergence and impacts of climate and energy policies.

Alongside my Horizon work, I will be building on a recent collaborative project that mapped regulatory disparities in electricity protection across Australia. This could include examining how energy poverty experiences correlate with lower levels of consumer protections.

There are also intersections between this work and the critical minerals investigations led by Prof Susan Park, which we will explore. I anticipate that many additional collaborative opportunities will arise across SEI in the near future.

What do you see as the biggest challenges or opportunities in the transformative governance space?

When we reform systems such as for energy transition, these systems also need to transform. Systems have often evolved in complex ways over time responding to immediate problems, incentive structures, and political needs.

It is rare to have opportunities to comprehensively transform governance systems, meaning that transformations for new systems will still build on these existing legacy systems with all of their complexity. In spaces such as energy transition and climate change mitigation, determining the right mechanisms to centre and entrench transformation goals through often extended implementation processes represents both an opportunity and a challenge.

What attracted you to the work of SEI, and what are you most excited about in your new position?

SEI is a collaborative environment where people with diverse perspectives come together to ask pressing questions of complex environmental challenges. This is an attractive and exciting research environment to tackle issues of energy transition and climate change mitigation in a transformative manner.  

I’m also looking forward to engaging with the Sydney Environment Institute and the Sydney Policy Lab, and with many other groups on campus working on issues of environment, policy, and health issues related to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

As a theme lead, what specific goals or initiatives do you hope to achieve within your area of expertise?

My primary objectives revolve around fostering collaboration and engagement across various research themes within SEI, with a particular emphasis on exploring justice aspects inherent in transitioning systems.

I aim to facilitate deeper engagement with energy transition across disciplines, focusing on elucidating the impacts of policy on the health and wellbeing of diverse sociodemographic groups, while also examining the pivotal role of governance in this context.

Additionally, I seek to enhance our understanding of the intricate dynamics of energy systems within system transformation efforts, with a specific focus on ensuring the provision of essential services that communities rely on from these energy systems.

RSVP to our 'Measuring energy insecurity' workshop

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