THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW– May 17-21, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
After retiring from 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace began speaking publicly about his struggles with depression. Wallace talks to Bob about the continuing stigma attached to mental illnesses. Then, one simple question sent journalist and running enthusiast Christopher McDougall across the globe: Why does my foot hurt? In his quest, McDougall ran endurance races across America, visited science labs at Harvard, and spent time with a tribe in Mexico’s Copper Canyons, whose speed and health could match any Olympic marathoner. McDougall’s book is titled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
For three years, director Joe Berlinger gathered the footage for his documentary Crude. In the classic battle between the haves and the have-nots, Crude examines both sides of the legal case known as the “Amazon Chernobyl.” 30,000 residents of the jungles of Ecuador claimed that the American oil giant Chevron contaminated an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, resulting in high levels of cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. Then, ninety-percent of the world’s sewage is dumped – untreated – into oceans, rivers and lakes. Almost half of the world’s population has no access to a toilet. Inadequate sanitation kills more people in developing nations than AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria and dirty water remains the world’s number one health risk. In her book, The Big Necessity, journalist Rose George argues that the way a society disposes of its sewage tells you a lot about its economy, politics and religion.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Ross Donaldson is part of the team that is helping to re-build Iraq’s medical system. His specialty is a relatively new and growing field at medical schools: humanitarian medicine. In, The Lassa Ward: One Man’s Fight Against One of the World’s Deadliest Diseases Donaldson writes about researching — and catching a deadly disease in Sierra Leone. Dr. Donaldson is also the author of Tarascon Medical Translation Handbook, a manual that helps healthcare workers communicate with their patients in 18 different languages. Then, Bob speaks with classical pianist Leon Fleisher, who lost the use of his right hand to a neurological movement disorder. An experimental treatment relieved his condition enough to allow him to perform two-handed once again on his CD The Journey.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bob talks to nutrition writer Michael Pollan about his book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Pollan is the author of New York Times bestsellers The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The Botany of Desire.
Friday, May 21, 2010
David Broder of The Washington Post joins Bob to talk politics. Next, The McCallen Building was the first LEED certified structure built in Boston. To environmentalists, the green building methods are forward-thinking and socially responsible but the construction workers who actually put the place together didn’t see the point at first. The film The Greening of Southie documents the ascent of The McCallen Building, explains LEED certification and illuminates their specific building techniques. The film is narrated by the building owner, architects, project managers…and most notably, the formerly skeptical construction workers. Filmmakers Curt Ellis & Ian Cheney join Bob to discuss their documentary and the green building movement in general. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with curator Dan Gediman about the essay of Maria von Trapp. She was the mother of seven girls and three boys, known as the world famous Trapp Family Singers. The story of their flight from Austria during Nazi occupation became the basis for “The Sound of Music.” Trapp and her family settled in Vermont where they operated a lodge and music camp.