Buzz Aldrin's Magnificent Desolation

The first time Buzz Aldrin filled out the forms to be a NASA astronaut, his application was turned down.  He was a jet fighter and the newly formed space agency was only interested in test pilots.  Aldrin applied again and this time he was accepted, partly because NASA was intrigued by the thesis he had recently completed at MIT: “Guidance for Manned Orbital Rendezvous” – an outline of a plan for two piloted spacecraft to meet in space.  This would hardly be the first time Aldrin would have ideas for NASA.  The underwater training for the first Apollo mission was his idea. And he holds three US patents for his schematics of a modular space station, reusable rockets and multi-crew modules for space flight. 

Many decades have passed since Aldrin stepped onto the moon’s surface and uttered the words that popped into his head: magnificent desolation.  And he still has a lot more ideas fo space exploration: cycling ships and a flexible path concept; Block 1 Exploration Modules and the Aldrin Mars Cycler — all things he talked about in his interview with Bob.  Aldrin also talked about an infamous punch he once threw. You can see it here: 

Aldrin’s new book, published by National Geographic, is Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration

This Weekend's Program

Bob Edwards Weekend, May 18-19, 2013

HOUR ONE:

Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news.

Paul Theroux has made a career of going on the road.  He travels light, and frequently, and he’s written scores of books about the places he’s visited.  His latest is about a continent that first received him as a 22-year-old Peace Corps volunteer: Africa.  The Last Train to Zona Verde details the people and places Theroux encountered from South Africa to Angola.

Then, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe. 

HOUR TWO:

British musician Billy Bragg is known for his folk-punk albums that run the gamut from protest to love songs.  He returns to chat with Bob about his latest release, Tooth & Nail, and about the loss of one of his great sources of inspiration, Margaret Thatcher.

Life After Life is Jill McCorkle’s first novel in seventeen years. It deals with the daily life of the residents and staff of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement facility that many of Fulton, North Carolina’s elderly now call home. McCorkle calls her story “a love song to memory and life.”

Bob Edwards Weekend airs on Sirius XM Public Radio (XM 121, Sirius 205) Saturdays from 8-10 AM EST.

Visit Bob Edwards Weekend on PRI’s website to find local stations that air the program.

Forthcoming on The Bob Edwards Show

The Bob Edwards Show, May 20-24, 2013

 

Monday, May 20, 2013:  Buzz Aldrin was the second man to step foot on the moon and the first to punch an Apollo conspiracy theorist in the jaw after the man demanded Aldrin swear on a Bible that the Moon landings were not fake. Aldrin dedicated a chapter to the incident in his 2009 autobiography Magnificent Desolation, titled after the words that he uttered while walking on the moon. Now he’s authored a new book from National Geographic in which he lays out his goals for the space program and how he believes we can get humans to Mars. It’s titled Mission to Mars. Then, winter inspires the layering of sweaters, big jackets and long johns, and now that spring is here, t-shirts, shorts and swimsuits anxiously await their yearly debut.  Steve Winick and Nancy Groce from The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress return to the program with a topic for all seasons, ‘clothing.’

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013:  Saul Bellow was a self-taught writer, whose prose remade American fiction in his own image and created many literary “sons” who were influenced by him. Now Bellow’s oldest biological son, Greg, has written a memoir titled, Saul Bellow’s Heart, which seeks to enlighten the world about his father’s inner life. Bob talks with Greg Bellow about family stories, literary legacies and the man he loved and still misses today.

 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013:  Pot. Herb. Mary Jane. America has a love/hate relationship with cannabis. According to Yale-educated journalist and television producer Ryan Nerz, that relationship is more like a love affair. Nerz talks to Bob about his book on the subject, Marijuanamerica: One Man’s Quest to Understand America’s Dysfunctional Love Affair with Weed. Then, The Atlantic Wire reports that America is headed for a Weed Spring – a coming wave of revolutionary change for the sticky icky.  It is, after all, the largest cash crop in America, out-budding corn and wheat. Two states have legalized personal marijuana use, and eighteen states have legalized medical marijuana use, including last month’s recent addition, Maryland. NORML, the marijuana public-interest lobby, believes the rest of the nation is on its way.  Bob is joined by NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup and Communications Director Erik Altieri to talk about these and more changes in marijuana legislation.

 

Thursday, May 23, 2013:  Developmental psychologist Peter Gray has spent years studying the impact of children’s imaginative play on their growth and development.  He shares his findings in his new book Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for life. Gray is the author of Psychology, one of the most widely used college textbook on the subject and a professor at Boston College. Then, best-known for her role as Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the Robert Altman film MASH, Sally Kellerman has a resume that ranges from jazz albums to Hidden Valley Ranch commercials. It’s been more than 50 years since her on-screen debut in Reform School Girl and Kellerman tells it all in her new autobiography titled, Read My Lips.

 

Friday, May 24, 2013:  Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for The Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, English professor Bill Scott spent his sabbatical living and working as a librarian in the People’s Library at Zuccotti Park, the former headquarters of Occupy Wall Street.  In the early hours of November 15th, an army of police in riot gear   - acting on the authority of Mayor Michael Bloomberg - raided the park, seized the 5,554 donated books, and destroyed nearly all of them. Four library laptops were also destroyed, as well as all the bookshelves, storage bins, stamps and cataloging supplies and the large tent that housed the library. Occupy Wall Street sued and last month won a settlement that included an admission of guilt from the Bloomberg administration that reads in part, “Plaintiffs and Defendants recognize that when a person’s property is removed from the city it is important that the City exercise due care and adhere to established procedure in order to protect legal rights of property owners.”  Finally, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe.

 

Forthcoming on The Bob Edwards Show

The Bob Edwards Show, May 13-17, 2013

Monday, May 13, 2013:  Life After Life is Jill McCorkle’s first novel in seventeen years. It deals with the daily life of the residents and staff of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement facility that many of Fulton, North Carolina’s elderly now call home. In the book, we meet Sadie Randolph, a third-grade teacher who has taught every kid in town; Stanley Tone, a prominent lawyer now fighting dementia; and Marge Walker, the town gossip who keeps a scrapbook of every crime that has been committed in town.   McCorkle calls her story “a love song to memory and life.” Then, as a songwriter, Kim Richey has co-written two number one hits: the Grammy-nominated ‘Believe Me Baby (I Lied)’ for Trisha Yearwood, and ‘Nobody Wins’ for Radney Foster. But as a performer in her own right, it took a long time for Richey to get her due. She got her first record deal at 37 and is now releasing her seventh album, Thorn In My Heart.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013:  Yellowstone National Park turned 140 years old last year, and thousands of people visit every summer. But what those tourists may not realize is that America’s first national park has a very dark past. George Black tells the story in his book Empire of Shadows and it was just released in paperback. Then, for nearly fifty years, Frank Deford has been dissecting American and international sports. He has covered just about every sport, in every medium, and he has written about it all in his memoir, Over Time: My Life as a Sportswriter and it’s now available in paperback.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013:  Erica Grieder, who covered Texas for 7 years as a correspondent for The Economist and now is at Texas Monthly, argues that the rest of the country needs to pay attention to Texas. She makes her argument in a new book titled Big, Hot, Cheap and Right. Then, Paul Theroux has made a career of going on the road. He travels light, and frequently, and he’s written scores of books about the places he’s visited. His latest is about a continent that first received him as a 22-year-old Peace Corps volunteer: Africa. The Last Train to Zona Verde details the people and places Theroux encountered from South Africa to Angola.

Thursday, May 16, 2013:  The civil rights struggle made great strides in many sectors of American society, but the movement did little to help Southern black farmers. The number of African-American farmers dropped by 93% between 1940 and 1974, predominately because they were forced from their land by discrimination, lack of information, and intimidation by the Department of Agriculture. Pete Danielwrites about this little-known chapter of American history in Dispossession: Discrimination Against African American Farmers in the Age of Civil Rights. Then, Christopher Buckley’s fictional novel They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? is about U.S.-China relations. In the book, a Washington lobbyist teams up with a neocon to turn the American public against the Chinese. Buckley will discuss the novel, and how you determine fact from fiction in our capitol city. His book is now out in paperback.

Friday, May 17, 2013:  Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for The Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Next, Molly Melching has lived and worked in Senegal, West Africa since 1974. She is the founder and executive director of Tostan, a nongovernmental organization that has developed an innovative model for development in which communities are leading large scale social movements for positive change. Finally, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe.

Rachel Barton Pine's Violin Lullabies

Rachel Barton Pine was a child prodigy on the violin, starting on the instrument at age three and making her professional debut just 4 years later. She lost her leg in a life-changing train accident at age 20 and she is still a world renowned, award winning violinist, having performed with orchestras, ensembles and as a soloist around the world. For her latest CD, Barton Pine returned to her earliest musical memories by recording 25 lullabies for her new album Violin Lullabies.  Digging deep into classical music and traditional folk tunes, her collection reminds us of familiar tunes as well as introducing listeners to works written by lesser known composers. Barton Pine also discusses her love of heavy metal music and her metal band Earthen Grave.

Click here to learn more about the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation which provides financial assistance to talented but disadvantaged young musicians.