Bob Edwards Weekend Highlights – January 23-24, 2010
HOUR ONE
The widespread tragedy in Haiti has as much to do with severe poverty and a dysfunctional government as it does with the recent earthquake. The country has a volatile history, especially when compared to its neighbors like the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, yet is stable financially and politically. Mark Schneider is a Senior Vice President and Special Adviser on Latin America at the International Crisis Group. He describes the people, government and culture of Haiti and why the quake affected so many people so drastically.
In 2008 Georges Anglade founded the Haitian chapter of PEN, the international organization that seeks freedom for writers. In a country where more than half the population is illiterate and corruption a historical norm, Anglade had taken on a challenging but important role. Unfortunately, he and his wife were killed in the recent earthquake. John Ralston Saul is the president of International PEN. He talks with Bob about his friend and colleague – and what Anglade’s death means for Haiti.
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with curator Dan Gediman about the essay of Pearl S. Buck. She won the 1938 Nobel Prize for Literature for her writings including The Good Earth. Born in West Virginia to missionary parents, Buck lived in China for 40 years. She wrote more than 100 works and advocated for adoption of homeless Asian-American children.
HOUR TWO
Bob spends the hour with cultural reporter Peter Ames Carlin. A few years ago, Carlin wrote an extensive biography of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Bob had Carlin on the program for an interview packed with great stories set to a great soundtrack. Now Carlin has turned his attention to Paul McCartney, whom he argues was always the Beatles’ musical director – even teaching Lennon how to play guitar chords and tune his instrument properly. Paul McCartney: A Life is based on years of research and presents a textured portrait of one of music’s living icons.