This Weekend’s Program

Bob Edwards Weekend, May 19-20, 2012

HOUR ONE:

Los Angeles Times columnist Doyle McManus joins Bob to discuss the latest political news.

Christopher Buckley is back with a new book, this time a fictional novel about U.S.-China relations.  In They Eat Puppies, Don’t They, a Washington lobbyist teams up with a neocon to turn the American public against the Chinese.  Buckley discusses the novel, how his famous father influenced him and his writing and how to determine fact from fiction in our capitol city.

Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Jessica Paris.  Summer is fast approaching – the season of taking it easy.  Paris says we should just say no to those impulses.  She is not a puritan or a miser, but in a world of bounty, choices have to be made.  And Paris believes that sometimes deprivation leads to greater satisfaction than indulgence.

HOUR TWO:

Try to imagine what would happen if Middle Eastern women were able to take control of their religious conflicts. That’s what writer, director and lead actress Nadine Labaki has done in her new film, Where Do We Go Now, and the result is poignant and witty.  Labaki will discuss the film, and the new promises and perils facing the Arab world.

Writer Seth Grahame-Smith found surprising success with his 2009 novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  It became a New York Times best-seller and spawned many imitators.  Another best-seller, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter followed in 2011. He also wrote the screenplay adaptation for Tim Burton’s film version which comes out next month. Now Grahame-Smith returns with Unholy Night, another dark revisionist tale.  Here he tells his version of the Christian nativity scene and recasts the mysterious Three Wise Men as murderous thieves who unwillingly become guards for Mary, Joseph and their newborn’s journey into Egypt.

Bob Edwards Weekend airs on Sirius XM Public Radio (XM 121, Sirius 205) Saturdays from 8-10 AM EST.

Visit Bob Edwards Weekend on PRI’s website to find local stations that air the program.

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