HOUR ONE:
- The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed into law in 1993 to protect the rights of workers who need to take time off for medical reasons. But currently almost half of Americans do not qualify for that leave and of those who do, most 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 last month by the outgoing Bush administration 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.
HOUR TWO:
- When Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal’s brother was killed in Iraq, the artist channeled the experience into a performance piece. For a month, Bilal lived alone in an art studio — in the line of fire of a remote-controlled paintball gun. A camera connected him to the internet where people could watch him – chat with him and shoot at him – 24 hours a day. The piece was titled “Domestic Tension” and The Chicago Tribune called it “one of the sharpest works of political art to be seen in a long time.” In 1992, Bilal came to the US where he became a professor, artist and now author. His new book is called Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun.
- 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 was released in the week between Barack Obama’s inauguration and the start of Black History Month.