THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW HIGHLIGHTS – August 15 – 19, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011: From April to November 1919, white mobs led race riots and lynchings across the country, from Bisbee, Arizona to New York City. Attacks occurred in more than three dozen cities and by the end of it, hundreds of blacks were dead. Cameron McWhirter writes about this little-remembered period of history in his new book, Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and The Awakening of Black America. Then, America’s first black military pilots gathered in Washington, DC this week for a reunion. Now ranging in ages 86 to 96, the men were part of the famed 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Dr. Dan Haulman is a historian who has spent a large part of his career researching and writing about the famed Red Tails. He has recently published a comprehensive history of the Tuskegee Airman, beginning with the days when officials in Washington publicly stated that blacks could never be pilots because they could not handle “complicated machinery.” Dr. Haulman’s book is titled The Tuskegee Airmen, An Illustrated History: 1939-1949. The Tuskegee Airmen will also be the subject of a soon-to-be major motion picture directed by George Lucas and starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011: Historian John Julius Norwich tells Bob about one of the most influential and controversial institutions of the last 1,500 years. Norwich is the author of Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011: Don Peck asks, “Can the middle class be saved?” in this month’s The Atlantic magazine. Bob asks him about that and about his new book Pinched: How the Great Recession Has Narrowed Our Futures and What We Can Do About It. Then, Legendary guitarists George Harrison, Pete Townshend and Brian Setzer all wailed on the same axe, the Gretsch 6120. First sold in the 1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins, the 6120 has since become a favorite of guitarists the world over. Author and guitar aficionado Edward Ball and his fellow guitarist Fred Stucky play selections on the renowned instrument and illuminate why the Gretsch is so well loved.
Thursday, August 18, 2011: Bob continues his conversation with editor Don Peck about his new book Pinched: How the Great Recession Has Narrowed Our Futures and What We Can Do About It. Then, private or public, few people enjoy being humiliated. Poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum examines humiliations’ various forms and settings in the latest from Picador’s BIG IDEAS, Small Books series.
Friday, August 19, 2011: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, Amigo, the 17th feature film from Academy Award-nominated writer-director John Sayles, is set during the Philippine-American War and stars Filipino actor Joel Torre as Rafael, a village mayor who comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails U.S. officer, played by Chris Cooper, to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Mark Olmsted. Every morning as he walks his dog, Olmsted fills several garbage bags with trash from the street. He’s not a neat freak — he’s a recovering drug addict. Picking up trash from the street is Olmsted’s way of making amends and putting the Serenity Prayer into action.