The Bob Edwards Show highlights, October 3-7, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011: The conflict in the Eastern Congo is one of the worst in history, where more than 5.5 million have perished and it’s the most dangerous place in the world for women and children. While “blood diamonds” were infamous in other parts of Africa, in the eastern Congo, it’s “conflict minerals” which are mined to be used in cell phones and laptops. Actress Robin Wright is an advocate for the victims in the region and she joins Fidel Bafilemba of the Enough Project to discuss their recent trip. Then, we remember Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai. In 2007, Bob talked to Maathai about her memoir Unbowed. Maathai grew up in rural Kenya and founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. Maathai died last Sunday at the age of 71.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011: The supermarket A&P was once the largest retailer in the world, so well-known that consumers called it “Grandma.” And long before anyone had ever heard of Wal-Mart, it was A&P changing the way Americans shopped and ate. Marc Levinson writes about the chain store and uses its history to help explain the politics of Main Street in his new book The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America. Levinson is the author of an earlier book titled The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. Then, Deborah Fallows set out on a mission to understand the nuance of “ai,” the Mandarin word for love, after a Chinese friend asked her (in Mandarin) which of her sons she loved more. Fallows was learning the language while living in China for three years with her husband,Atlantic writer James Fallows. In her book, Dreaming In Chinese, Fallows explains how learning Mandarin helped her better understand modern China. It’s now out in paperback.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011: Cultural critic Laura Kipnis’ 2010 book How to Become a Scandal examines why so many of us love to watch a good scandal, and why we can’t look away from someone’s public self-destruction. A professor of media studies at Northwestern University, Kipnis often focuses her work on gender issues in popular culture. How to Become a Scandal is now available in paperback. Then, critics have called Irish singer-songwriter Julie Feeney the most “intriguing female voice to come out of Ireland since Sinead O’Connor.” From her debut album 13 Songs (2006) to her latest release Pages, Feeney has established herself as an artist of unique talents and gifts.
Thursday, October 6, 2011: Caldecott award winning illustrator Brian Selznick is the author of 2007’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which will be out in movie form this Thanksgiving from director Martin Scorsese. Selznick most recent book,Wonder Struck, tells two congruent tales, one in illustrations and the other in words. Then, Truman Capote wrote the novella that became a beloved film classic starring Audrey Hepburn in her most iconic role. But if Capote had his way, Marilyn Monroe would have played the naïve and sprightly Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, not Hepburn. Sam Wasson has authored a book exploring the making of the movie and its influence on the contemporary woman — the “little black dress” is just the beginning. Wesson’s book is titled Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman.
Friday, October 7, 2011: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, Texan Cameron Todd Willingham was charged for the 1991 arson murders of his three daughters. He maintained his innocence until his execution in 2004. Filmmakers Joe Baily, Jr. and Steve Mims discuss the mystery, the forensic evidence, and the politics surrounding this controversial case. The film, Incendiary: the Willingham Case, opens today in NYC. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Dani Weathers. After Weathers’ father died in a car accident, she struggled with severe depression that eventually led to self-destructive behavior. She spent so many years in emotional darkness that she began to fear that without her depression, she would have no personality at all. Now Weathers has a renewed feeling of happiness. Her depression is still with her, but it no longer rules her life.
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Bob Edwards. Thank you! and good luck!