THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW HIGHLIGHTS – November 10-14, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bob talks politics with David Broder of The Washington Post. Then, Bob speaks with Dana Gioia. He’s the out-going Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts which is the government agency charged with promoting arts in the United States. Gioia took over the NEA at a time when many Republicans were calling for it to be abolished. Gioia’s mantra is “arts are not a luxury” and he has spent his four years in the post shepherding programs like Shakespeare in American Communities, NEA Jazz Masters, and The Big Read. Gioia recently announced that he will resign in January.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Lee Atwater was a blues-playing Republican operative who led his party to historic victories, changed the way America elects Presidents and helped make “liberal” a dirty word.. To Democrats, Atwater was a ruthless political hatchet man; one Congresswoman called him “the most evil man in America.” On Tuesday, November 11th, the PBS program Frontline airs Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story. Bob talks with filmmaker Stefan Forbes about Atwater’s life and legacy, the role he played in the victories of President Reagan and both Presidents Bush and his influence on his then-protégé Karl Rove. Then, it was a song that John Steinbeck called “immortal;” “Lili Marlene” started as a German love song and through a strange turn of events was adopted by both sides as the unofficial anthem of WWII. Writers Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller recount its history in Lili Marlene: The Soldier’s Song of World War II. Finally, Bob talks with music reviewer and Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis about the new re-issue of the late Warren Zevon’s self-titled classic album.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Michelle Rhee might be one of the most controversial government workers right now. She’s chancellor of Washington, DC public schools. Since her appointment in the summer of 2007, Rhee has fired nearly 800 teachers, teaching aids, principals and assistant principals — not to mention, taken the teachers union and city council to task. Clay Risen interviewed Rhee and parents, teachers, and school staff for his article in The Atlantic and will discuss what he learned as part of that investigation.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Some women went to Iraq thinking they would provide basic support as mechanics and supply clerks, but instead found themselves fighting alongside Marines in some of the bloodiest battles. The special group was given the name “The Lionesses” for their role in combating the counterinsurgencies. Filmmakers Meg McLegan and Daria Sommers interviewed five of these women and present their stories in the PBS documentary titled Lioness. Bob talks to McLegan, Sommers, and one of the Lionesses about how women cope with the trauma of war. Then, long before Ariana Huffington, 18th century aristocrat Germaine de Stael was the first intellectual queen of contemporary society. Bob talks with writer Francine du Plessix Gray about the biography Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman which examines the life of the woman hated and exiled by Napoleon for her radical liberalism.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Bob talks with artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude about their exhibit Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Over The River, a Work in Progress. The exhibition of more than 150 photographs, collages, drawings, and maps, will chronicle the artists’ process as they prepare to assemble and suspend massive panels of silvery fabric horizontally over the Arkansas River in Colorado. The exhibition traces the development of this ambitious project over the past 16 years.