Bob Edwards Weekend Highlights – November 13-14, 2010
HOUR ONE
Today, “Surviving the Fallen: Dignified Transfers to Military Families.” The remains of fallen service men and women return to American soil at a rate now of more than one per day. Each body lands at the Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware and is honored in a quiet event called a “dignified transfer.” The Bob Edwards Show chronicles the process of receiving America’s men and women killed overseas, from the moment they land at Dover until the family lays them to rest. In “Surviving the Fallen,” military staff, a Dover photographer, and family members describe the procedural, emotional, and spiritual experience of paying respect to our fallen warriors.
In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Jessica Mercer Zerr. She teaches composition and introductory linguistics at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. She and her husband Ryan have been married for more than eight years, and she writes about their devotion to each other — shown in the dozens of small favors and kindnesses they share each day. They have two young sons, but they still find time for each other in their hectic schedules.
HOUR TWO
Bob talks with public radio space reporter Pat Duggins about NASA’s next giant leap. His new book is titled Trailblazing Mars and Duggins will update us on the future of the space program under the Obama administration and beyond.
Garry Wills has written about Jack Ruby and John Wayne; Saint Augustine, Saint Paul and Jesus; James Madison and Abraham Lincoln. Now he writes about himself. His autobiography is titled Outside Looking In: Adventures of an Observer.