Monday, July 9, 2012: Bill Nye is one of the best known public advocates for science education. A one-time engineer at Boeing and amateur standup comic, Nye inspired a generation of children with his PBS program Bill Nye the Science Guy.Today he hosts The 100 Greatest Discoveries on the Science Channel and The Eyes of Nye on PBS. Bill Nye joins Bob to discuss the importance of science in society, new frontiers of research and the scourge of teachers everywhere, summer ‘brain drain.’ Then, working in the tradition of Graham Greene and John le Carre, writer Alan Furst is the best-selling author of historical espionage thrillers. His most recent book, Mission to Paris, follows a Hollywood actor-turned-secret-agent as he navigates the political intrigue of Paris in 1938.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012: Filmmaker Mark Wexler explores how Americans are living longer than ever before in history in his documentary How to Live Forever, which is now available on DVD. Then, last month, Mary Chapin Carpenter released her 12th studio album, Ashes & Roses. The acclaimed country-folk singer-songwriter has sold over 13 million records and won five Grammy Awards for hits like “Passionate Kisses” and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” is touring with longtime friend Shawn Colvin this summer.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012: After Congressman Paul Ryan said that his Catholic faith helped shape the Republican budget plan, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops responded by calling it an immoral document. And now Ryan has another group of Catholics questioning his theology: Nuns. For two weeks, a group of nuns traveled by bus through nine states to protest the Republican budget, which includes major cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and food stamps. Along the way, the “Nuns on the Bus” have visited homeless shelters, food pantries and hospitals to bring attention to the services they say will be “decimated” by the Ryan plan. The Vatican recently got involved and criticized the group for focusing too much on poverty and keeping “silent’ on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. Sister Simone Campbell is the executive director of Washington, D.C.-based social justice lobby Network, which organized the bus tour. Then, Brandon Jones is the author of All Woman and Springtime, a novel that Pulitzer-prize winning author Alice Walker calls an “absorbing, chilling, and important” novel. A story of girlhood and human sex trafficking, Bob talks to Jones about the intersections of his research and creative writing.
Thursday, July 12, 2012: Jeff Bell is the founder of “Adversity to Advocacy Alliance,” an organization that helps people create positive changes through the power of storytelling. Cory Reich was diagnosed with ALS in 2007 and founded “Cory’s Crusade” to give voice to others with ALS. After Mary Nicholson suffered a stroke in 2003 and her family was told she would remain in a vegetative state, she recovered and is the founder of Healings in Motion. Robert Villanueva suffered from bipolar disease and is a national speaker and trainer for The National Alliance on Mental Illness. Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley and Director for Greater Good Science Center, will explain the research that shows how helping others helps oneself. Then, Bob talks sports with John Feinstein, Washington Post columnist and co-host of SiriusXM’s “Beyond the Brink” (Mad Dog Radio, channel 86).
Friday, July 13, 2012: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, Jeff Himmelman has gotten a lot of flak recently for his authorized biography about Washington Postlegend Ben Bradlee, Yours in Truth. Since the release of the book, Bob Woodward – Himmelman’s former boss and co-author — has made the accusation that the young writer “betrayed” his former mentor to write a cheap “tell-all.” Himmelman joins Bob to talk about the dangers in writing about people who are still alive. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing seriesThis I Believe, we hear the essay of Tina Boscha. Stepmothers get a bad press. From the ancient Greeks to Cinderella to countless movies, a sour expression and a bad attitude have been the hallmarks of Dad’s new wife. Boscha is doing her best to change that stereotype. She loves her stepkids and experiences all the joys and frustrations of being a parent.