THE BOB EDWARDS SHOW HIGHLIGHTS – December 3-7, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012: Author Jesse Prinz jabs at the nihilism of the nature/nurture debate in his book Beyond Human Nature: How Culture and Experience Shape the Human Brain. Prinz shares with Bob his belief that “…nurture can transcend nature.” Then, USC Professor Sarah Banet-Weiser interrogates popular culture, professionally. Her books question national identity, beauty pageants, consumer citizenship, neoliberalism,… Nickelodeon. Her latest book Authentic: The Politics of Ambivalence in a Brand Culture argues that “branding” is not just a marketing tool, but a mirror for cultural and social relations.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012: David Von Drehle has pinpointed 1862 as “the most eventful year in American History.” He writes about it in his new book Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year. Drehle is the editor-at-large at TIME magazine and the author of Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012: Jon Meacham won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2008 biography of Andrew Jackson titled American Lion. Now the executive editor of Random House turns his attention to the third president of the United States with his new book Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.
Thursday, December 6, 2012: For most of his career, Thomas Ricks has observed generals up close and his new book, The Generals, is a coincidently timely review of six decades of Army leadership. Ricks believes that General David Petraeus’s departure from the CIA tells us more about the state of our nation than it does about Petraeus, and that President Obama should not have accepted his resignation. Now a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and contributing editor for Foreign Policy magazine, Ricks is a former military correspondent who has shared two Pulitzer Prizes and been a finalist for a third for an earlier book, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Then, Bob talks sports with veteran sports report John Feinstein.
Friday, December 7, 2012: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, In the course of his work, Indian journalist Aman Sethi met Mohammed, an educated and talented man living on the streets. In his debut book, A Free Man: A True Story of Life and Death in Delhi, Sethi tells Mohammed’s story, giving readers a picture not just of one man but of Indian society. Then, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe.