HOUR ONE
- Bob talks with LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan for his picks in this year’s Academy Awards.
- Bernhard Schlink’s 1995 novel The Reader told the haunting story of a teenage boy and an older woman in post-war Berlin. It has remained one of the most-read novels in modern history, having been translated into 40 languages. Part mystery, part love story, part historical confession, The Reader asks the question, “How far would you go to protect a secret?” The book was adapted for the screen and is in theaters now. It stars Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes and was directed by Bob’s guest Stephen Daldry. The Reader received 5 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director.
- 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 WW II. Writers Liel Leibovitz and Matthew Miller recount its history in Lili Marlene: The Soldier’s Song of World War II.
HOUR TWO
- This is Spinal Tap was the first in a long-line of “mockumentaries” for Christopher Guest, including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. That last one poked fun at folk music, something Guest knows a lot about. Guest plays the mandolin, mandocello, clarinet and guitar. And Guest’s new band, The Beyman Brothers, has released its debut album. Guest and band mate David Nichtern talk about the release, Memories of Summer as a Child and then Bob talks with Guest about his movie career.
- There are about 7,000 languages in the world, but by the end of this century, half will disappear. David Harrison studies languages that are dying. He travels to the most remote parts of the world to find and interview the last known speakers of disappearing languages. Many of the languages Harrison studies are spoken by fewer than a dozen people. His quest is told in a documentary called The Linguists. Bob is joined in the studio by Harrison, and by two of the film’s three directors, Jeremy Newburger and Seth Kramer. They explain why documenting dying languages is important.
- Jeff Campbell runs a non-profit organization called Hungry for Music which provides musical instruments to disadvantaged children across the country. He funds much of this charitable work with proceeds from the CDs of baseball music he puts together. Campbell has two discs out now in the series he calls Diamond Cuts. Just in time to distract you from the steroids mess and put you in the mood for spring training.