The Bob Edwards Show, October 24-28, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011: Famed writer Margaret Atwood has just written a treatise on science fiction called, “In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination.” She talks with Bob about her relationship with the genre and its subtleties. Then, Sweet Honey in the Rock, the internationally renowned all-female vocal ensemble, brings its powerhouse sound to our performance studio for a conversation with Bob and to share a few of their songs. The Grammy award-winning group was founded in 1973 and took their name from Psalm 81:16. They are currently touring a new show that pays tribute to activists and musicians Nina Simone, Odetta, and Miriam Makeba.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011: In his new novel, Lost Memory of Skin, Russell Banks explores the aftermath of crime and punishment. The book follows a nameless young man as he does his best to survive a modern-day limbo. The Kid is a convicted sex offender, and he lives with others who share his fate under a causeway in south Florida – the only location available that is simultaneously close enough to parole officers and far enough from children. The Kid eventually meets the Professor, who also lives on the margins of society, and their friendship provides the Kid enough confidence to begin to take control of his life. Then, Bob talks about Mark Twain with Cindy Lovell, the Executive Director of The Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri. Lovell also was the executive producer for a new double CD called Mark Twain: Words & Music. It features readings by Jimmy Buffett, Clint Eastwood and Garrison Keillor and songs by Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley and Ricky Skaggs.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011: In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Justice Stephen Breyer as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the nation’s leading scholars and voices of constitutional law, Justice Breyer’s most recent book is Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View. He joins Bob to examine the American public’s relationship with Supreme Court decisions, addressing how the Court can maintain the public’s faith even in the face of unpopular rulings. His book is now out in paperback.
Thursday, October 27, 2011: This year marks the tenth anniversary of Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. attack on Afghanistan. Jonathan Steele has covered Afghanistan since 1981 and he joins Bob for an analysis of the current situation in the region. His new book is titled Ghosts of Afghanistan: The Haunted Battleground.
Friday, October 28, 2011: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about politics and other news. Next, filmmaker Jennifer Fox spent 20 years documenting the relationship between a Tibetan spiritual leader and his Italian-born son who refuse to follow in his father’s footsteps. My Reincarnation opens today in New York and Los Angeles. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Bhavani Murugesan. She is a college graduate and an attorney. Murugesan also lives with her parents. What started out as a matter of necessity has blossomed into a matter of choice. Murugesan says that knowing her parents as adults, and participating in their daily lives, has made the family closer.