Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 1: writer David Bradley; journalist Kirstin Downey; This I Believe, Inc. Executive Director Dan GedimanAn episode of: Bob Edwards Weekend
FDR’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded four arts program. One of those, the Federal Writer’s Project, employed thousands of writers and started the careers of some of America’s most famous authors like Studs Terkel, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and Zora Neale Hurston. Bob talks with writer DAVID BRADLEY about a new documentary that tells the story of the Federal Writer’s Project. “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story†premiers on the Smithsonian Channel this weekend.
Frances Perkins was FDR’s Secretary of Labor and his moral conscience. The very first woman to hold a cabinet level position, it was Perkins who created and guided many of the New Deal programs. Perkins’ ideas became some of the country’s most important laws. Journalist KIRSTIN DOWNEY has written the first biography about Perkins. It’s titled The Woman Behind the New Deal.
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series THIS I BELIEVE, Bob talks with executive director DAN GEDIMAN about the essay from James Carey. Called “Labor’s Boy Wonder,†Carey was still in his 20s when he was elected national secretary of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. By age 40, Carey founded and became the first president of the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers.
269 Episodes of this Podcast:
Sportswriter Dave Zirin; New Orleans resident Keith Campbell; author John Eisenberg; entertainment critic David Kipen
Published: 2010-02-05 20:56:50DAVE ZIRIN, sports editor of The Nation, gives Bob a preview of Super Bowl XLIV. Then, Bob talks with KEITH CAMPBELL, older brother of producer Chad Campbell, and life-long New Orleans resident, about the Super Bowl. The Saints are appearing in that contest for the first time.
When Vince Lombardi became coach of the Green Bay Packers, the franchise was in a tail spin. It was the laughingstock of the National Football League – community owned, cheaply run, and outclassed on the field. When coaches and owners of other teams wanted to scare a little hard work into their own players, they threatened to ship the miscreants to Green Bay. In Lombardi's first season with the Packers, he returned the team to respectability and began to lay the groundwork for his now legendary coaching ability. Sportswriter and author JOHN EISENBERG talks with Bob about Lombardi. Eisenberg's book is titled, "That First Season."
SEGMENT 2-C: DAVID KIPEN
Entertainment critic and former National Endowment for the Arts Director of Literature DAVID KIPEN talks about what's new in theaters and about the passing of writer J. D. Salinger.
Former US Comptroller David Walker; author Richard Reeves; Executive Director of This I Believe, Inc. Dan Gediman
Published: 2010-02-05 20:49:55With concerns about mounting national debt so intense now that President Obama has called for a partial spending freeze, Bob turns to DAVID WALKER for fiscal opinion and analysis. Walker is a former Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office, and he has just written "Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility."
The Berlin Airlift has been called the first battle of the cold war. For almost a year, young men flew old planes over Berlin dropping food, fuel, medicine -- even candy -- to the two million people below. In his new book "Daring Young Men," historian RICHARD REEVES tells the stories of the civilian airmen who carried out one of history's largest humanitarian campaigns.
In this week's installment of our ongoing series THIS I BELIEVE, Bob talks with curator DAN GEDIMAN about the essay of Ben Lucien Burman. Author, journalist, and World War I veteran, Burman wrote 22 books, including the bestselling Catfish Bend series about life in a fictitious Louisiana river town. Several of his books became movies, including "Steamboat Round the Bend," which starred Will Rogers.
Journalist and author Anne Kornblut; former vice-presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro; journalist Susan Davis; professor Bonnie Morris
Published: 2010-01-29 20:51:27Barack Obama made history by being the first African American elected to the nation's highest office, a feat no woman has yet accomplished. We'll spend the hour discussing that topic, first with journalist ANNE KORNBLUT. She covered the last presidential election for the Washington Post, and she's the author of "Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and What It Will Take for a Woman to Win."
Bob talks with former vice presidential candidate GERALDINE FERRARO about the advances women have made and the obstacles that still remain on the political battlefield.
Bob spends the rest of the hour with Wall Street Journal reporter SUSAN DAVIS and women's studies professor BONNIE MORRIS, who share their observations on the successes and failures of women in politics.
Author Jeremy Rifkin; folklorists Steve Winick and Nancy Groce; This I Believe executive director Dan Gediman
Published: 2010-01-29 20:34:17Social thinker and author JEREMY RIFKIN'S latest book looks at emerging scientific studies that show humans are not naturally aggressive and self-interested, but fundamentally empathetic. Rifkin's book, "The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis," is a new interpretation of the history of civilization, focusing on the development of human empathy.
Folklorists NANCY GROCE and STEVE WINICK from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress are back to share songs and audio relating to the theme of "Sickness & Health."
In this week's installment of our ongoing series THIS I BELIEVE, Bob talks with curator DAN GEDIMAN about the essay of Ahmad Zaki Abu Shadi. He was born in Cairo, studied medicine in London, and returned to Egypt to research bacteriology and teach. Also an accomplished artist, Shadi published several collections of poetry, wrote scripts for operas and painted. He immigrated to the United States in 1946.
Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 2: biographer Peter Ames Carlin
Published: 2010-01-22 23:26:12Bob spends the hour with cultural reporter PETER AMES CARLIN. A few years ago, Carlin wrote an extensive biography of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Bob had Carlin on the program for an interview packed with great stories set to a great soundtrack. Now Carlin has turned his attention to Paul McCartney, whom he argues was always the Beatles' musical director, even teaching Lennon how to play guitar chords and tune his instrument properly. "Paul McCartney: A Life" is based on years of research and presents a textured portrait of one of music's living icons.
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Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 1: Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group; writer and president of International PEN John Ralston Saul; This I Believe, Inc. Executive Director Dan Gediman
Published: 2010-01-22 23:19:33The widespread tragedy in Haiti has as much to do with severe poverty and a dysfunctional government as it does with the recent earthquake. The country has a volatile history, especially when compared to neighbors like the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, yet is stable. MARK SCHNEIDER is a Senior Vice President and Special Adviser on Latin America at the International Crisis Group. He describes the people, government and culture of Haiti, and how its citizens can rebuild a stronger country.
In 2008, Georges Anglade founded the Haitian chapter of PEN, the international organization that seeks freedom for writers. In a country where more than half the population is illiterate and corruption is a historical norm, Anglade had taken on a challenging but important role. Unfortunately, he and his wife were victims of the recent earthquake. JOHN RALSTON SAUL is the president of International PEN. He talks with Bob about his friend and colleague.
In this week's installment of our ongoing series THIS I BELIEVE, Bob talks with curator DAN GEDIMAN about the essay of Pearl Buck. She won the 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature for her writings, including "The Good Earth." Born in West Virginia to missionary parents, Buck lived in China for 40 years. She wrote more than 100 works and advocated for adoption of homeless Asian children.
Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 2: artist and author James Rosenquist; filmmaker Tom Shepard, students Ana Cisneros and Hermain Khan
Published: 2010-01-15 20:22:45Pop artist JAMES ROSENQUIST arrived in New York City as a young art student of great promise in 1955. Over his 50-year career, Rosenquist surpassed his early expectations to become one of the most important pop artists of his generation. "Painting Below Zero: Notes on a Life in Art" is his own account of the highs and lows of his remarkable career.
HERMAIN KHAN is a first-generation Pakistani American and ANA CISNEROS is an Ecuadorian American. When they were 17-year-old high school students, Khan and Cisneros competed in the nation's oldest, most prestigious science competition, The Intel Science Talent Search. Now they're featured in a new documentary called "Whiz Kids" directed by TOM SHEPARD. The film is a coming-of-age story framed by the competition.
Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 1: journalist and author Paul Ingrassia; anthropologist and author Catherine Lutz; Executive Director of This I Believe, Inc. Dan Gediman
Published: 2010-01-15 20:03:33Close to a million people will attend the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In addition to the more than 700 new models on display, attendees will see an industry transformed. Since last year's show, General Motors and Chrysler have gone in and out of bankruptcy. Toyota announced its first loss in almost 60 years. PAUL INGRASSIA spent 31 years with The Wall Street Journal, eight of those as the Detroit Bureau Chief. He won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of GM and has written a number of books about the auto industry. His latest is called "Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road from Glory to Disaster."
According to anthropologist CATHERINE LUTZ, Americans spend an average of 18 and a half hours a week in their cars. Lutz is the author of "Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile & Its Effect on Our Lives." The book pairs statistics with stories to explore what the American love affair with the car gets us -- and what it costs us.
In this week's installment of our ongoing series THIS I BELIEVE, Bob talks with curator DAN GEDIMAN about the essay of actress Phyllis Kirk. She starred with Vincent Price in the horror film "House of Wax," and with Peter Lawford in "The Thin Man" television series. Throughout her career, Kirk was active in various social and civil liberties causes.
Producer Chad Campbell interviews Carl Kasell in 1993
Published: 2010-01-10 00:34:47In 1993, Chad Campbell was a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill. CARL KASELL was visiting his alma mater and agreed to an interview. A version of this interview aired on WXYC’s "Feedback," a college radio news and arts program.
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Bob Edwards Weekend Hour 2: television producer Sue Birtwistle; musician Chuck Prophet
Published: 2010-01-08 21:43:33Based on the books by Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, "Cranford" debuted on PBS's Masterpiece Classic in 2008. With an ensemble cast that included Judi Dench, Julia McKenzie, and Imelda Staunton, "Cranford" followed the lives of the residents of a fictional English town in the 1840s. Now the cast is back in "Return to Cranford," debuting on PBS this weekend. Bob talks with producer and "Cranford" miniseries creator SUE BIRTWISTLE.
Guitarist and singer CHUCK PROPHET discusses the recording of his latest CD in Mexico City -- during the height of Swine Flu hysteria. The record is called "Let Freedom Ring!" and Prophet also performs a few tracks from the album in our studio.
Copyright info: 2007
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