The Bob Edwards Show
October 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007: Bob talks politics with regular Monday guest David Broder of The Washington Post. Then, Bob talks to Kristin Layng Szakos and Joe Szakos about their book: “We Make Change: Community Organizers Talk About What They Do–and Why.” Then, Bob talks to Appleseed Recordings president Jim Musselman. Ten years ago, this former consumer advocate lawyer formed the independent record label, now home to musical luminaries such as Pete Seeger, Donovan, David Bromberg and others. To celebrate Appleseed’s 10-year anniversary, the label is releasing “Sowing the Seeds – The 10th Anniversary.”
Tuesday, October 2, 2007: Bob talks with writer Orhan Pamuk , the 2006 Nobel prize recipient for literature. Pamuk’s most recent book Other Colors is his first since winning the coveted prize last fall and he shares with Bob what has changed for him in the past year. Pamuk was Turkey’s first writer to win a Nobel and is currently a writer in resident at Barnard College. Then, Nobel peace prize winner Wangari Maathai talks with Bob about her recent memoir Unbowed . Here Maathai writes of her journey growing up in rural Kenya to founding the Green Belt Movement in 1977. Throughout her life, Maathai has endured jailings, beatings, and personal loses but still works tirelessly to plants trees to save Kenya’s forests and restore democracy to her country.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007: Bob talks with our sports analyst King Kaufman about the start of Major League Baseball’s postseason. Then, Bob talks to Canadian journalist, author and activist Naomi Klein. In her third book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, Klein argues that America’s “free market” policies have come to dominate the world through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries. Then, filmmaker Tony Kaye, best known for “American History X,” has been working on “Lake of Fire” for the past fifteen years. Bob talks to Kaye about that film and his attraction to controversial subjects.
Thursday, October 4, 2007: Bob talks with Matthew Brzezinski about his new book — Red Moon Rising. On October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite – igniting the space age and starting the space race with the United States. Brzezinski goes behind-the-scenes of Sputnik’s launch to reveal the hidden rivalries between the two superpowers. Then Bob talks to Mark Knopfler about his latest CD. “Kill to Get Crimson” is the former Dire Straits front man’s fifth solo album. On this one, Knopfler mixes his usual electric guitar with more traditional folk instruments.
Friday, October 5, 2007: Historian Daniel Ford talks with Bob about his book Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942. These American pilots sailed for Asia to defend China for $600 a month and a bounty of $500 for every Japanese plane they shot down. Then, every parent thinks their child is talented, but what happens when buyers also think little Marla is the next Picasso? Bob talks to director Amir Bar-Lev about his new documentary My Kid Could Paint That. His film chronicles four-year old Marla Olmstead’s unprecedented rise to fame, fortune, and scandal as she amasses over $300,000 for her artwork.
Monday, October 8, 2007: Bob talks politics with regular Monday guest David Broder of The Washington Post . Then, renowned historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto talks to Bob about how exploration and colonial history has shaped our present reality. Fernadez-Armesto’s book is called Pathfinders: a Global History of Exploration . It comes out in paperback today. And finally, Bob speaks with Michael Quinion, editor of the World Wide Words web site. Quinion talks about the ancient roots of the household phrase, “pinch of salt,” about how the word bafflegab was invented, and more.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007: Bob talks to writer Tom Miller about a new collection of essays he edited. The book is called How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life. It features the memories of successful Hispanic writers, entertainers, scientists, athletes and politicians. Then, Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones is this year’s guest editor of New Stories from the South, a collection of short stories influenced by the American South. He is joined by three of this year’s featured writers: Holly Goddard Jones, Joshua Ferris, and Angela Threatt . And finally, Bob talks with Mitch Davis, the musician behind that song from the iPhone commercial. Davis will explain how Apple found his song, decided to use it in their commercials, what it’s meant for his career and why he calls his one-man-band Orba Squara. His latest cd, “Sunshyness” comes out today.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007: Bob talks with Middle Eastern expert and author William Polk. His latest book is titled Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism & Guerrilla War, from the American Revolution to Iraq . Then, Bob talks to Chris King and Hank Sapoznik, the producers of People Take Warning!, a collection of murder ballads and disaster songs from 1913 – 1938. The collection is released by Tompkins Square records.
Thursday, October 11, 2007: Bob talks to former President Jimmy Carter about his new book Beyond The White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope. Then, Bob talks to members of the band Oakley Hall.
Friday, October 12, 2007: Bob talks with director Kenneth Branagh and actor Michael Caine about their new film “Sleuth.” It’s a remake of the 1972 thriller in which Caine played the younger of the only two characters in the movie opposite Laurence Olivier. Then, Bob goes for a walk with senior curator Dr. Frank Kelly through the National Gallery’s Edward Hopper exhibit. This is the first major retrospective of his work ever held in Washington, DC and brings together painting from all over the country.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Bob talks politics with regular Monday guest David Broder of The Washington Post . Then, nearly 50 percent of new teachers in urban schools quit within three years. And since he first started writing about teaching, new teachers have looked to education activist Jonathan Kozol for advice on how to survive those first few years. Kozol joins Bob to talk about his
newest book, Letters to a Young Teacher. Then, Bob talks to Maddie Fennell and Terry Kaldhusdal, two recipients of this year’s Teachers of the Year award. They discuss their perspectives with Bob on today’s education legislation, specifically the No Child Left Behind act.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Bob talks to the former President of Mexico Vicente Fox. Then, singer-songwriter Josh Ritter talks with Bob and performs a few songs from his latest CD, “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter,” which many have hailed as one of the best albums of 2007.
Wednesday , October 17, 2007
In the her latest book The Zookeeper’s Wife, writer Diane Ackerman write of the true tale of Jan and Antonina Zabinski, a Polish zookeeper and his wife. During the Nazi invasion of WWII, the Zabinski’s sheltered over 300 Jews in the cages and hidden places of the Warsaw zoo. Ackerman talks with Bob about uncovering Antonina’s diaries and the true-life drama of her story.
Then, Bob talks with Kelly DiNardo about the best-known post World War II burlesque queen, Lili St. Cyr. Lili was known for using themes from literature and history in her acts. Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan were fans; Marilyn Monroe was a disciple. The book is called Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique .
Thursday, October 18, 2007
First, movie reviewer David Kipen discusses recent releases including the re-make of Sleuth and The Darjeerling Limited. Then, Bob visits with record collector Joe Bussard at his home in Frederick, Maryland. Bussard is the founder and proprietor of his own label, Fonotone Records. He is a radio host & a musician and throughout his life he has tirelessly scoured Appalacia and the American south for classic 78 RPM records. Today, he maintains a collection of more than 25,000 of these rare records, primarily of old-time string bands, blues & jazz. When record labels want to do a collection of early recorded music, or the Library of Congress lacks a copy of a certain influential record, its Joe Bussard they call.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Bob talks to Katherine Newman about the millions of Americans who live just above the poverty line — those who make too much money to get public assistance but not enough to make ends meet. Newman has documented the challenges facing that group of 57 million in The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America . Then, many of us still remember baseball’s good old days: the ballparks, the legendary players, and the unforgettable play-by-play announcers who brought it right into our homes. Bob talks to Kevin Bender about many of those broadcasting Hall of Famers in his documentary “Ball Talk: Baseball’s Voices of Summer.” It’s now available on DVD. And finally, Bob talks to members of the band Oakley Hall
Monday, October 22, 2007
Our regular Monday guest, David Broder, is away so Bob talks politics with Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times. Then, Bob talks with author and neurologist Oliver Sacks about many things including his book Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, where Sacks investigates the power of music to move, heal and haunt us.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Bob talks to the new US poet laureate Charles Simic. He is the author of 18 books of poetry. Simic is also an essayist, translator, editor and professor emeritus of creative writing and literature at the University of New Hampshire, where he has taught for 34 years. Then, Bob talks to writer Ann Patchett about her book Run. After the success of her 2001 novel Bel Canto, Patchett follows up with the story of Bernard Doyle and his family. Doyle is a former mayor of Boston and desperately wants his two adopted sons, Tip & Teddy to go into politics. Set over a 24 hour period, Run is a novel about race, class, compassion and the power of familial love.
Wednesday , October 24, 2007
Bob talks with sports analyst King Kaufman about the World Series, and the regular season in the NFL and NHL. Then, Bob talks with Nora Guthrie about the release of a rare recording of her father, Woody, in concert in 1949.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Bob talks with Valerie Plame Wilson, the former CIA officer whose “outing” by Robert Novak in 2003 set off a spiraling scandal that resulted in one reporter going to jail, another threatened with jail, a grand jury investigation, and the indictment and then pardon of Cheney’s Chief of Staff, Lewis Libby. Wilson had to sue the CIA to get permission to write a book; she won and now tells her side of the story in Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. Then, Bob talks to Thomas Lynch, an undertaker and a poet in a small town outside of Michigan.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Peanuts and the gang are some of the most beloved comic characters of the American newspaper. Their creator, Charles Schulz drew their antics and quips for fifty years, until his death in 2000. Bob talks with both Schulz biographer David Michaelis and PBS director David Van Taylor about their surprising discoveries of the life of Charles Schulz.Then, Anthony Hopkins writes, directs and stars in his new film “Slipstream,” billed as a story about the implosion of a man’s mind. The movie also stars Christian Slater, John Turturro, Michael Clark Duncan, Camryn Manheim and Jeffrey Tambor.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Bob talks politics with regular Monday guest David Broder of The Washington Post . Then, Bob talks with blues musician Guy Davis about his latest CD “Skunkmello.” Davis is the son of political activists and actors Ruby Dee and the late Ossie Davis.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Bob talks to Dr. Henry Simmons about the nation’s ongoing healthcare debate and how it is impacting specific issues such as children’s health and the presidential candidates’ proposals to improve health care. Then, Bob talks to musician Dan Wilson who is best known as the lead singer of the group Supersonic which had a huge hit in the 90’s called “Closing Time.” Now, at the age of 46, Wilson has released his first solo record called, “Free Life.”
Wednesday , October 31, 2007
Classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein has been performing for years, but it wasn’t until her 2005 Carnegie Hall debut that she received critical recognition. Bob talks with this Brooklyn resident about how things have changed for her since then and about her latest recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Then, Bob talks to jazz and blues singer Andy Bey , known for his emotive ‘soft-palate’ style. He began singing and playing music as a child prodigy, appearing at the Apollo Theater and on television by age 12. In his teens, Bey toured Europe with his family group: Andy and the Bey Sisters. His latest in a string of critically-acclaimed albums titled: ‘Ain’t Necessarily So.’