Monday, May 28, 2012

It’s been more than forty years since thousands of American troops died fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. For this Memorial Day, we pay tribute to our service men and women with an encore presentation of our award-winning show Stories from Third Med: Surviving a Jungle ER.  The documentary includes stories of the Navy’s Third Medical Battalion, which served alongside the Third Marine Division. They were based near the DMZ, closest to the enemy in North Vietnam. Four decades later, the doctors and corpsmen recount the horror (and humor) they can never forget, and reflect on the forces that drive men to war in the first place.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Chuck Leavell returns to The Bob Edwards Show to discuss his latest ventures and adventures: Receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; recording a new blues tribute CD, Back to the Woods; publishing his fourth book, Growing a Better America: Smart, Strong and Sustainable; being named an honorary forest ranger by the U.S. Forest Service; working on John Mayer’s new record, Born And Raised (released on May 22); and successfully launching Mother Nature Network, an on-line one stop shop for environmental news. Then, Nanci Griffith’s 20th album is called Intersection, and has the singer-songwriter reflecting on changes and choices. The single “Hell No (I’m Not Alright)” has become a theme song for the “Occupy” movement.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Writer Paula McLain combines fact and fiction in The Paris Wife, a historical novel about Hadley Richardson, the first wife of American writer Ernest Hemingway.  The Paris Wife is now available in paperback.  Then, Joan Miro (1893-1983) was a leader in the Surrealist movement and one of the great modern artists of the 20^th century.  He was also a passionate Catalonian with a deep connection to his native land.  Bob talks with curator Harry Cooper about Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape, on view at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC through August 12, 2012.  Then, we close the hour with a visit to Miro’s now-crumbling country home in the Catalan countryside.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Within a generation, more households will be supported by women than by men. In The Richer Sex, Liza Mundy takes us to the exciting frontier of this new economic order: she shows us why this flip is inevitable, what painful adjustments will have to be made along the way, and how both men and women will feel surprisingly liberated in the end. Then, Bob talks sports with John Feinstein, Washington Post columnist and co-host of SiriusXM’s “Beyond the Brink” (Mad Dog Radio, channel 86).

Friday, June 1, 2012

Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news.  Next, we pay tribute to bluegrass legend Doc Watson who Bob spoke with in 2004.  The multiple Grammy winner was known for his flat-picking guitar style which influenced countless musicians and impressed countless fans.  Watson died on Tuesday at the age of 89. Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of John Dyben.  Parents have a strong impulse to protect their children from harm, and to soothe their fears and worries.  But the world can be a scary place, and a little reality must sometimes creep past the sugar coating.  Dyben is a therapist, educator, and pastor.  His daughter’s bedtime fears about bogeymen encouraged him to think more deeply about the reassurances he offered her.  And eventually, he found himself admitting that though his love for her is strong, his protection of her is not absolute.

Monday, June 4, 2012

The diminishing clout of unions has resulted in an erosion of the middle class and has increased economic disparity between the rich and the poor.   Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation and labor lawyer Moshe Marvitt want to amend the Civil Rights Act to protect labor organizers.  Their book is titled Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right.  Then, in 2002, Norah Jones burst onto the music scene with the smash album Come Away With Me. Since then, Jones has used her honest & evocative voice to build a successful career including four studio albums and collaborations with the likes of Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock and Dolly Parton. Her fifth offering, titled Little Broken Hearts, is produced by Brian Burton, also known as Danger Mouse.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Love, Life and Elephants: An African Love Story chronicles Dame Daphne Sheldrick’s more than 50 years working to rehabilitate orphaned animals of East Africa whose parents were killed by poachers. Sheldrick is considered the authority on rearing wild animals and she is the first person to perfect a milk formula that has saved many milk-dependent elephants and rhinos. She began and still runs an orphanage near Nairobi whose inhabitants are all elephants. Dame Sheldrick’s life will soon be the subject of a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman.  Then, we talk about breasts.  They’re the subject of reality TV shows, paparazzi shots, and halftime wardrobe malfunctions. They’re also the subject of Florence Williams’ informative first book Breasts: A Natural And Unnatural History.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

His father bought him his first guitar, a “worn-in instrument with two strings,” for $4.35.  Since then, Buddy Guy says life “ain’t never been the same.”  Bob talks to Guy about his music and journey from Lettsworth, Louisiana.  His new book is When I Left Home: My Story. 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Bob talks with banjo player Bela Fleck and the Original Flecktones, who have reunited for their latest CD called Rocket Science. Howard Levy is back on piano and harmonica, joining bandleader Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten and Futureman on percussion.  Then, Bob talks sports with John Feinstein, Washington Post columnist and co-host of SiriusXM’s “Beyond the Brink” (Mad Dog Radio, channel 86).

Friday, June 8, 2012

Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news.  Next, Echo is the sultry debut album of Carrie Manolakos. The songstress gained immediate attention when she released a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” on YouTube.  Since, Manolakos has been distinguished by the likes of The New Yorker and other publications for her talent.  Bob talks to Carrie about her album, her career in performance theatre, and what we can expect from the burgeoning icon.  Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, we hear the essay of Andrew Riutta.  Raised to be tough, Riutta’s ancestors were farmers, miners and lumberjacks, and he followed them into the hard-day’s-work force.  Riutta believed he could muscle his way out of any problem and around any obstacle, until he learned he would be a father.  Riutta says fatherhood is the hardest job he’s had, and that it has softened his disposition and rounded his rough edges.