Monday, January 31, 2011
Stephanie Coontz is a social historian and in her most recent book she revisits the one book that drastically created change for women in the United States nearly fifty years ago. In A Strange Stirring: “The Feminine Mystique” and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s, Coontz reflects on the advances and obstacles of feminism since that time. Then, in Franklin and Eleanor, biographer Hazel Rowley examines the evolution of the Roosevelt marriage from conventional Victorian union to a radical, political partnership. The Roosevelt marriage was also one filled with scandal: FDR’s lifelong affair with Lucy Mercer, Eleanor’s purported lesbianism, and many more in between.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Bob talks with Michael Lewis about his book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine. It’s a look at the mortgage crisis and the few visionaries who saw it coming and made a fortune. His book is now available in paperback.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
In 2007, photojournalist Tim Hetherington and writer Sebastian Junger traveled with an American platoon to Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, a strategic passage wanted by the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and one of the deadliest pieces of terrain in the world for U.S. forces. Restrepo, a chronicle of their experiences, is nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary. National Geographic Channel will air Restrepo Wednesday, February 2nd at 8PM ET/PT.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
In anticipation of this weekend’s Super Bowl, we remember one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Vince Lombardi. We begin with Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, author of the book: When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. The best-selling biography served as a basis for the new Broadway play Lombardi. Bob speaks with lead actors Dan Lauria and Judith Light.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Doyle McManus, Washington Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, Lyle Lovett recorded a new CD since he was last on The Bob Edwards Show in 2007. It’s called Natural Forces and the title track refers to both Lovett’s love of horses and his desire to honor those who serve in the military. Over the past year, Lovett has taken on more acting roles. He recently appeared on an episode of the NBC show Castle, playing a mysterious federal agent. And in December, he performed Shakespeare in a production of Much Ado About Nothing alongside Helen Hunt. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Lee Reeves. She embodies a line from the Gershwin tune, “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” — she sings off-key. But when her daughter was born with a serious illness and needed hours of motherly attention, Reeves learned to sing with abandon, ignoring wrong notes and focusing on the love she was expressing.