Each week Bob is joined by Dan Gediman, the Executive Director of This I Believe, Inc. to discuss one of the original essays from the 1950s radio series. This week’s featured essay is by Polish director Maximilian Hodder. Click here to read a transcript and to hear the audio of his “This I Believe” essay.

HOUR ONE

Writer Luis Alberto Urrea’s latest novel, Into The Beautiful North, tells the epic journey of 19 year old Nayeli, as she sets out from her native Mexico to find her own “Magnificent Seven” to save her village from the drug dealers who have taken over the town. Inspired by the 1960 film, Nayeli travels to America in search of protection. Urrea was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and has won an American Book Award, among many other honors; his previous books include The Hummingbird’s Daughter and The Devil’s Highway.

In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with executive director Dan Gediman about the essay from director Maximilian Hodder who worked in the movie industries of Eastern Europe before World War Two. Then, while serving in the Polish Army, he was captured by the Soviets but managed to escape and joined the Royal Air Force. Hodder came to the United States in 1949 to work in Hollywood and greatly appreciated the freedoms and the promise of his newly adopted country.

HOUR TWO

For the past 30 years, travel guru Rick Steves has advocated for thoughtful and informed traveling in his public television series, his radio show, and of course his best selling travel guide books. His new book, Travel As a Political Act, is about why we travel and how being a good traveler creates positive ties with the citizens of other nations.

Peter Carlson isn’t sure which anecdote it was that turned him into a self-described Khrushchev-in-America buff. It could have been the one about the irascible Soviet leader throwing a fit because he wasn’t allowed to go to Disneyland. Or it could have been Khrushchev’s suspicion that Camp David was really a leper colony. Or it could have been Khrushchev arguing with Nixon over which kind of animal dung smelled the worst. Carlson includes those stories and many more in K Blows Top, a book about Nikita Khrushchev’s great American road trip of 1959.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

For the past 30 years, travel guru Rick Steves has advocated for thoughtful and informed traveling in his PBS tv series, his radio show, and of course his best selling travel guide books. His new book, Travel As a Political Act, is about why we travel and how being a good traveler creates positive ties with the citizens of other nations. Then,a look at the world of film with our resident entertainment critic David Kipen.

There are many memorable and successful song writing duos in the recent history of music — George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Lennon and McCartney, Gilbert and Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe are a few pairs of names that come to mind. But somewhere near the top of that list, you’d have to make room for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. I had only a vague idea of who they were and what they had done before I started producing Bob’s interview with them. Let’s just say it’s a good thing they have the entire hour to discuss SOME of the songs they’ve written together since meeting in 1950. Leiber and Stoller are the men behind hits as disparate as “Kansas City”, “Stand By Me”, “On Broadway”, “Yakety Yak”, “I’m a Woman” and “Hound Dog.” They wrote that last one for blues singer Big Mama Thornton, she did okay with it, then Elvis Presley recorded it. “Hound Dog” is also the name of the new autobiography co-written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. And to further impress you, here is the list of their songs I used, in the order they appear in the interview:

Hard Times by Charlie Brown

Stuck in the Middle by Stealer’s Wheel

Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison

Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton

Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Yakety Yak by The Coasters

Poison Ivy by The Coasters

Love Potion #9 by The Clovers

There Goes My Baby by The Drifters

On Broadway by The Drifters

Stand By Me by Ben E. King

Some Kind of Wonderful by The Drifters

Corrina, Corrina by Ray Peterson

Spanish Harlem by Ben E. King

I’m a Woman by Peggy Lee

Is That All There Is? by Peggy Lee

Smokey Joe’s Cafe by The Robins

I hope you enjoy the stroll down memory lane provided by Bob, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

-Chad

Bob Edwards and Robert Redford, New York City, June 17, 2009A couple of months ago, I received an email from the New York Media Relations Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Robert Redford, who has been an NRDC Trustee for over 30 years, is a longtime fan of Bob Edwards and has asked us to reach out to him with a special request.”

The actor wanted Bob to interview him in front of a live audience, a free public event hosted by the NRDC, to discuss how his career and environmentalism have intersected over the course of his career.

So on the evening of June 17^th at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City, Bob (Edwards) interviewed Bob (Redford). I arrived early that afternoon to help our engineer Bruce Berenson set up the recording equipment (a special thanks to Bruce because I could not have coordinated that remote session without his know-how). The theater is beautiful, flanked by rich wood paneling. Backstage, two dressing rooms were assigned – Redford was to use Dressing Room A, and Bob, Dressing Room B. Dressing Room A, Bob (Edwards) quickly pointed out, was stocked with a selection of nice chocolates and nuts. Those treats were untouched by Bob (Redford) upon his arrival, however. Instead of hiding in his own dressing room, Redford stepped into Dressing Room B to chat with Bob (Edwards) and I about the interview which was about to begin. Redford seemed shy to talk about his acting career. Rather, he wanted to focus on the NRDC and the environmental work they have completed since 1975 (the year he became a trustee of the legal advocacy organization).

Once on stage, the conversation flowed nicely from film-making (and the arts) to the environment (and politics). John Adams is the founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council and he’s been close to Redford since the actor joined the organization more than thirty years ago and has seen him talk many times. Following the event, Adams commented that he heard stories from Redford that he never had before. It’s nice to know, that even after interviewing Redford several times prior, Bob was able to elicit new tidbits from the actor.

My personal take on the evening: I not only was thrilled to meet Redford because of his obvious talent and legendary status in American culture – but it’s exciting to know that he really is just as nice, humble and down to earth as you would hope him to be. There were no airs about him, and my guess is that that quality (or lack thereof) at least partially accounts for his immeasurable success in life (and something I think the two Bobs actually have in common).

Redford regularly posts entries to the NRDC’s On Earth web site (http://www.onearth.org/author/robert-redford). It’s worth flagging that page, because just as he demonstrated during his interview on stage at the Lincoln Center, Redford is very knowledgeable and involved in the fight to protect the environment, and his blog posts convey that passion. What’s more, On Earth is a great resource in general – we have featured several of their contributors on The Bob Edwards Show in the past and certainly will do so again in the future. Now more than ever, the subject of protecting the earth is a priority, whether it’s a conversation with a Hollywood celebrity or a lesser-known environmental journalist. As you can see, the NRDC is a strong resource in that effort.

Happy listening (and, hopefully, learning),

Ariana