The Bob Edwards Show, October 14-18, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013: On this day in 1962, what became known in the United States as the Cuban missile crisis began. We mark this anniversary with Bob’s interview with Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs, who spent years carefully researching the Cuban missile crisis, unearthing new material for an hour-by-hour account of the Cold War’s apex. Dobbs’ book is titled One Minute To Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. Then, professor James Blight’s film The Armageddon Letters, is a transmedia storytelling project about the lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Blight is an expert on those 13 tense October days in 1962 when nuclear war nearly broke out between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013: Bob is visited by two Washington Post reporters, Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher to talk about the life and complexities of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. They co-authored the book Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas. Then, Bob’s conversation with Robert McCrum, author of Wodehouse: A Life, a biography of British humorist P.G. Wodehouse, who created many memorable literary characters, including Jeeves and Wooster.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013: Scottish folk icon Donovan began his music career creating hits for other people. He was one of the few artists to collaborate with the Beatles, contributing to Yellow Submarine and A Day in the Life. But from 1966 to 1969, Donovan had a string of eleven Top 40 hits including Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman, Hurdy Gurdy Man, This Is A Mountain, and Riki Tiki Tavi. Now he’s back on the scene with a new album titled Shadows to Blue. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Then, writer Dean King’s book Unbound a True Story of War, Love and Survival follows the story of 30 Chinese women who joined Mao Tse-tung’s Red Army in their 4,000 mile trek across mainland China. These women fled their homes in search of a better life, and remarkably, all survived the grueling journey.
Thursday, October 17, 2013: “Oriental” became a derogatory classification for people when cultural studies scholar Edward Said educated us on its divisive implications. Bob talks to his daughter Najla Said about her relationship with the unconventional thinker and her memoir Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused In An Arab-American Family.
Friday, October 18, 2013: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, the story of a small town in Alabama that made big, defiant music. Muscle Shoals has drawn in musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Greg Allman, Bono, Jimmy Cliff, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards, producing hits such as “I’ll Take You There,” “Brown Sugar,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” and “Freebird.” Freddy Camlier is the director of the new documentary film, Muscle Shoals. Finally, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe.