The Bob Edwards show, June 24-28, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013: Marc Maron began his standup career as a contemporary of the late Sam Kinison, and though he’s toured extensively, recorded comedy CDs, appeared on talk shows dozens of times and held prominent jobs in media, personal problems including addiction laid Maron low by 2005. At his nadir, Maron began recording conversations with his friends and fellow comedians for a podcast called “WTF,” which today stands as a cornerstone of the medium. The underdog success of “WTF” sparked a career renaissance for Maron, who has since starred in his own show on the Independent Film Channel and written a book, titled Attempting Normal.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013: Bob talks with legendary soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples about her incredible career with “Pops” and The Staple Singers and about her latest album. One True Vine was produced by Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco and recorded at the band’s studio in Chicago.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013: Bruce Katz is a vice president at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Metropolitan Revolution. Katz says that while the federal government is gridlocked by partisan politics and abstractions, in city governments across the country, local politicians are able to work together and accomplish concrete goals. He talks with Bob about this power inversion and details what’s happening in cities such as New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Then, in his glowing review of her new novel, Flora, John Irving describes Gail Godwin as “a present-day George Eliot — our keenest observer of lifelong, tragically unwitting decisions.” The narrator of Godwin’s book is 10-year-old Helen Anstruther, who has just lost Nonie, the grandmother who raised her after her mother, Lisbeth, died when she was 3. The setting is the summer of 1945, Helen’s father has just left town to do “more secret work for World War II” in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and she is left in the care of her mother’s 22-year-old cousin, Flora. What happens to Helen and Flora that summer will make Helen the woman (and writer) she becomes.
Thursday, June 27, 2013: After a string of well-received roles in the 1960s, English actor Terence Stamp took a 9 year acting hiatus, returning to films as the villainous General Zod in the first two Superman films. Since then, Stamp has been a consistence presence on the big screen. His most recent film, Unfinished Song, is about local curmudgeon who is forced to deal with life following the death of his vivacious wife (Vanessa Redgrave).
Friday, June 28, 2013: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for The Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, Cheyenne Marie Mize is a singer-songwriter from Bob’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She has been described as having that “rare voice, sweet without being cloying, and weary without hopelessness.” She performs songs from her forthcoming release, Among the Grey. Finally, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe.