Monday, January 26, 2009: In 1955, Swiss photographer Robert Frank received a Guggenheim grant to document American society as he saw it. Five years later, Frank published his essay. “The Americans” established Frank as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. The work was embraced by young artists and critics but was generally loathed by the public as a cruel and unsympathetic look at the country. The National Gallery of Art is hosting a 50th anniversary exhibit to honor Frank’s accomplishments. Then, Bob takes a tour of Robert Frank’s The Americans, with National Gallery of Art Curator of Photography Sarah Greenough.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009: Bob talks with writer Mark Harris about his book, Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, which compares and contrasts the five Oscar nominees for best picture of 1967. In the Heat of the Night beat out fellow nominees Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Doctor Dolittle. Then, Bob talks with our music reviewer Anthony DeCurtis about a new collection of CDs titled “Let Freedom Sing: The Music of the Civil Rights Movement.” The three-CD set is released in the week between Barack Obama’s inauguration and the start of Black History Month.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009: The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed into law in 1993 to protect the rights of workers to take time off for medical reasons, but currently almost half of Americans do not qualify for that leave and of those who do qualify, most (nearly 80-percent) opt not to take it because they simply can’t afford it. Bob investigates the challenges of how workers maintain their households when they or a family member get sick — and how legal changes implemented this month actually make those challenges even more difficult. We’ll hear from advocates for workers, the business community, and workers themselves as a part of this special feature.
Thursday, January 29, 2009: E.J. Graff has spent the past year investigating the global baby trade for the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. Graff’s investigation reveals that an increasing number of international adoption networks have become baby-brokers — buying, kidnapping, or coercing infants from their families for delivery to first-world countries . Next, the thirty-ninth President of the United States calls for a re-engagement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. For more than three decades, Jimmy Carter has focused his personal and political attention on the Middle-East, but he says the present moment is a unique time for action. President Carter offers what he calls “a plan that will work.” Then, a look at the world of film with our resident entertainment critic David Kipen.
Friday, January 30, 2009: David Broder of The Washington Post joins Bob live with the latest from the capital and beyond. Next, its Salon.com sports columnist King Kaufman with a preview of Super Bowl XLIII. Then, in time for “Sesame Street’s” 40th anniversary, writer Michael Davis tells the story of this beloved children’s television show, from its creation by a group of talented and off-beat innovators to its current state in Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street.
Really enjoyed your program today on Robert Frank. I entered our underground parking garage toward the end, so I missed some of the program. Perhaps you mentioned that Frank worked with the Rolling Stones, and that many (all?) of the cover photos from Exile on Main Street were Frank’s ? I just saw that on Wikipedia’s item on Frank.