Monday, March 21, 2011: Daniel Drezner is a professor of international politics at Tufts. A very serious thinker, he has just written Theories of International Politics and Zombies. Then, actor, comedian, writer, musician and all around Renaissance man Steve Martin returns to the banjo on his second album Rare Bird Alert, a follow-up to 2009’s grammy winning album The Crow. Martin is joined here by bluegrass group The Steep Canyon Rangers, with special guests The Dixie Chicks and Paul McCartney singing a couple of Martin’s original tunes.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011: Professor Edward Glaeser argues that cities are not the dirty, poor, sickly, and environmentally unfriendly places that many believe them to be. Instead, he says that they are the healthiest, greenest and richest places to live. Glaeser is a professor of economics at Harvard University and has traveled the world studying the economics and demographics of urban areas. His book is Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011: Fifty years ago, Newton Minow made a speech in which he called television “a vast wasteland.” In this month’s issue of The Atlantic, JFK’s former FCC chairman surveys the media landscape today. Then, on March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. opened fire outside of a Washington hotel wounding Ronald Reagan and three others. The president lost half of his blood and came closer to dying than most realize. In Rawhide Down, Del Quentin Wilbur lays out the minute-by-minute account of the assassination attempt. “Rawhide” was Reagan’s Secret Service code name.
Thursday, March 24, 2011: A lot of baby boomers believe that if they just eat healthy and live right they can make “90 the new 50.” The truth is that it’s very difficult to grow old gracefully, and controlling the way you age and die is generally a pipe dream. In her new book, Never Say Die, Susan Jacoby explores the myth and marketing of old age. Then, Wunderkind bluegrass musician Sierra Hull is already making a mark on the music scene. At just 19 years old, Hull counts Dolly Parton and Alison Krauss among her fans; in fact, she’s performed with Krauss at the Grand Ol’ Opry and the White House. Her new album Daybreak is produced by Rounder Records.
Friday, March 25, 2011: Doyle McManus, Washington Bureau Chief for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, artist and director Julian Schnabel is known for his eccentric style and creative approach to filmmaking. Basquiat, Before Night Falls, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly have earned critical acclaim including a Golden Globe, Palme d’Or, and an Academy nomination. His most recent is Miral, a portrait of Palestinian life through the eyes of a young woman raised in an East Jerusalem orphanage. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Marian Wilson Kimber. She is a musicologist who teaches at the University of Iowa. Kimber moved there from Mississippi, where her daily visits to a coffee shop kept her connected to a community of people who were very different from her. Kimber says we as a society need places that allow people with different backgrounds and political ideas to mix and share respectful conversations.