THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW HIGHLIGHTS – July 18-22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011: Africa has a new country: the Republic of South Sudan. After decades of fighting for independence, southern Sudan seceded on July 9th. Co-founder of The Enough Project, John Prendergast, was in the country to observe the volatile split, where the predominantly Muslim north still disagrees with the predominantly Christian south on how to divide their oil-rich border. Prendergast will describe what he saw, discussions with local leaders, and why war crimes are feared. Then, Jeffrey Deaver is the author of twenty-eight novels but his next is a first. No James Bond book has ever been written by an American, until now. Deaver discusses Carte Blanche: A James Bond Novel, its villains, women, and British humor about Yankees.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011: Jimmy Buffett is like a pied piper, but with a guitar, leading his Coral Reefer Band and his legion of fans known as Parrot Heads. Bob visits with Buffett in the state of mind called Margaritaville to talk about the song, the commercial enterprises, the Sirius XM satellite radio channel and about his connection to New Orleans.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011: The majority of Americans oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Wall Street bailouts, but passivity reigns and people complain that they feel powerless. In his book Get Up, Stand Up, psychologist Bruce Levine offers an explanation for this apathy, namely that major US institutions have created defeatism. And when defeatism set in, action becomes very difficult. Then, In 2004 Robert K. Wittman founded the FBI Art Crime Team, a small group of special agents who recover art and artifacts snatched from museums and private collections all over the world. During his 20 year career with the FBI, Wittman has recovered rare antiquities and paintings by masters like Picasso, Monet, and Rembrandt totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. His memoir is Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures.
Thursday, July 21, 2011: As a life time nerd, actor and comedian Simon Pegg knows his fan base well. Growing up obsessed with Star Wars, Star Trek, and all things popular with the unpopular, Pegg was well-poised to take on starring roles in cult films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Spaced. Pegg writes about being different in Hollywood in his new book Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy’s Journey to Becoming a Big Kid. Then, Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen’s novel is a satirical look at the likes of Lindsay Lohan. It’s called Star Island. He and Bob talk celebrity culture and Florida politics.
Friday, July 22, 2011: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, at age 21, pianist Vanessa Carlton earned three Grammy nominations for her pop hit A Thousand Miles. However, she was unsatisfied with the product and process, so with her latest album, she self-produced and self-funded. Carlton performs songs from “Rabbits on the Run” and talks about her growth as a musician. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Lex Urban. He believes in living for the moment. Choosing to follow his interests, no matter the naysayers, has been fruitful for him. Urban was the captain of his college tennis team, and after graduation, chose service to others instead of chasing the almighty dollar. His experience with AmeriCorp helped shape his opinion about the important things in life.