The Bob Edwards Show on SiriusXM, August 20-24, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012: When Anthony Heilbut was growing up in New York City in the 1950s, he’d often go see R&B shows at the Apollo Theater. One day an usher urged him to check out the gospel shows, too. Heilbut did and “became obsessed with proselytizing” for gospel music. Heilbut has written a collection of essays titled The Fan Who Knew Too Much: Aretha Franklin, the Rise of the Soap Opera, Children of the Gospel Church, and Other Meditations. Then, Bob talks with Susan Richards Shreve, the author of fourteen novels. Her latest is You Are The Love Of My Life.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012: Racial “passing” is a controversial topic in American history. Bob talks to author Marcia Dawkins about this and more. She’s the author of Clearly Invisible: Racial Passing And The Color Of Cultural Identity. Then Bob talks with Lakesia Johnson about women such as Sojourner Truth, Angela Davis, and Michelle Obama. Johnson is an English professor and the author of Iconic: Decoding Images of the Revolutionary Black Woman which documents the lives and trials of African American women who refuse to be stereotyped.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012: First, we have writer Stephan Talty. His new book Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day chronicles Barcelonan poultry farmer Juan Pujo’s strange but true tale as one of World War Two’s most important double agents. Then, contemporary jazz musician Marcus Miller. He has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in music: Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Roberta Flack, Frank Sinatra and more. Bob talks to Miller about his career and his latest album Renaissance.
Thursday, August 23, 2012: In his fourteenth book, John McWhorter asks readers to look at language the way a linguist does: examining and appreciating spoken language as much as the written word. McWhorter is a linguist and tells Bob there is no such thing as “improper” grammar. His book What Language Is (And What It Isn’t and What It Could Be) is now out in paperback. 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, August 24, 2012: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the news from the Beltway and beyond. Next, Nassir Ghaemi, the director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, tells Bob that when the world is in crisis, slightly unbalanced leaders are our best hope. Ghaemi’s book, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness, is available in paperback. Lastly, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Amanda Joseph-Anderson. She talks about how the playlists of her youth, stacks of records played loud on the phonograph, brought her closer to her mother.