Monday, March 9, 2015: Bob pays tribute to Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and our very own contributor David Broder. He was a part of our program for our first six years, appearing nearly every week from 2004-2010 to offer his analysis of the news. In the fall of 2010, instead of asking about the latest polls and political maneuvering, Bob talked with Broder about his long and storied journalism career. We share part of their conversation today. David Broder died four years ago at the age of 81. Then, husband and wife musicians Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi put their individual groups on hold five years ago to form a family band that would allow them to take the kids on the road. Trucks was a slide guitar prodigy who began touring with some of blues and rock music’s biggest names when he was just nine. Tedeschi has been playing in bands since she was 13, but has come a long way since her first all-original group The Smokin’ Section. Derek and Susan take a break from their extensive tour to talk with Bob about family life on the road and their second studio album, Made Up Mind.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015: While notable big city newspapers are shrinking and failing, many rural weeklies are thriving. Award-winning journalist Judy Muller shares some big stories from small towns and talks with Bob about her book Emus Loose in Egnar. Then, it’s hard to believe it in most parts of the country, but spring is almost here. As proof, baseball is underway in Florida and Arizona. Bob talks with sports writer John Feinstein about his book Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015: Whether you hate them or love them, pigeons are everywhere. Bob talks to Andrew Blechman about his book Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird. Then, conservationist and founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Dave Goulson found his passion for bees as a young boy in rural England. His book, A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees, looks at why bees worldwide are declining and what we can do about it. That takes care of the birds and the bees – now for some bonus bugs. Bob talks with Peter Laufer about his book The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists. It touches on the relationships between butterflies and organized crime, ecological devastation, species depletion, the integrity of natural history museums and the art world.
Thursday, March 12, 2015: Bob talks with the great James Taylor. He’s a great American singer and songwriter known for songs like Fire & Rain and Sweet Baby James. But for his 2008 album titled Covers, Taylor took some of his favorite songs by other artists and put his own twist on them. The North Carolina native talks about his career from “You’ve Got a Friend” to his latest album, as well as the political work he was doing back then. Today is Taylor’s 67th birthday.
Friday, March 13, 2015: Bob speaks with Marc Fisher about his book, Something in the Air: Radio, Rock and the Revolution that Shaped a Generation. It tells the story of how radio survived the rise of television by focusing on “pop culture” and how it became the bonding agent for a generation. And that generation definitely included Bob who grew up listening and dreaming about one day being a voice in the box. And that’s what he’s been to his listeners for more than four decades.