Skloot spent more than 10 years on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. She interviewed dozens of medical researchers and relatives of Lacks, and the result is a fascinating and fast read — biography, medical ethics, racial politics — that pays homage to someone who unkowingly made one of the most important contributions to science, and who has largely been lost to history.

Skloot is still telling this story. She’ll be on a self-planned book tour into the summer, and you can click here to find out when she might appear in a town near you. She’s also trying to do a little for the descendents of Henrietta Lacks, with a foundation that will provide college scholarships.

—Geoffrey Redick

Almost 60 years ago, doctors took cells from a cancer patient in Baltimore. She died soon afterward, forgotten to everyone except her family. But her cells became immortal and famous – known as HeLa. HeLa cells were the first to grow reliably in a laboratory, and they’re still the most widely used today. They’re responsible for everything from the Polio vaccine to gene mapping. They’ve ridden into space and into oblivion on atomic weapons. In a new book, Rebecca Skloot tells the story of the woman from whom HeLa cells were taken without permission, and what happened to her family after she died. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is part biography and part investigation into racial politics and medical ethics.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010  

Writer Ralph Ellison is best known for his book Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award in 1953 and is considered one of the most important books of the 20^th century.  When Ellison passed away in 1994 he left behind thousands of pages of a second, unfinished novel.  Editors and Ellison scholars John Callahan and Adam Bradley have compiled and edited Ellison’s work into the book Three Days Before the Shooting, published by Modern Library.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

In novelist Sarah Blake’s book The Postmistress, American radio reporter Frankie Bard is the first woman to broadcast from the Blitz in London during World War II.  Her reports from 1940 bring war into the living rooms of millions of Americans, including two women from a small Cape Cod town who soon find their lives caught up in this foreign conflict. Then, photographer Jennifer Greenburg spent the past 8 years traveling the U.S. documenting the Rockabillies, a small subculture celebrating the style and sound of post-war 1950s America.  Her book, The Rockabillies, is published by The University of Chicago Press.

Thursday, February 11, 2010 

David Rose is the advertising director of Sexually, I’m More of a Switzerland: More Personal Ads from the London Review of Books, the second compilation of personal ads from the LRB.  He edited 2006’s They Call Me Naughty Lola and is an editor for the London Review of Books.  Then, Suzi Ragsdale has sung background vocals on more than 60 albums including Whisper My Name by Randy Travis, but recording her own music has been a slower process.  But this year, the songwriter, vocalist and pianist is releasing two albums.  The first, titled Best Regards, is a eclectic set of her recent tunes and Less of the Same, is a hand-picked mix of songs written over the course of her career.

Friday, February 12, 2010  

David Broder of The Washington Post joins Bob to talk politics. In honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday we bring back Bob’s 2005 interview with scholar Ronald White about his book, The Eloquent President: Lincoln and His Speeches.  Then, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with curator Dan Gediman about the essay of Harry S. Truman.  He was the 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. Born and raised in Missouri, Truman was a farmer, businessman, World War I veteran and U. S. senator. As President, his order to drop atomic bombs on Japan helped end World War II.

David Broder of The Washington Post joins Bob to talk politics.  Then, entertainment critic David Kipen joins Bob to talk about this week’s Oscar nominations and the passing of J.D. Salinger. And, in this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with curator Dan Gedimanabout the essay of Ben Lucien Burman.  Author, journalist, and World War I veteran Burman wrote 22 books, including the bestselling Catfish Bend series about life in a fictitious Louisiana river town. Several of his books became movies, including Steamboat Round the Bend, which starred Will Rogers.

With concerns about mounting national debt so intense now that President Obama has called for a partial spending freeze, Bob turns to David Walker for fiscal opinion and analysis.  Walker is a former comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office and he has just written Comeback America:  Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.

The Berlin Airlift has been called the first battle of the cold war. For almost a year, young men flew old planes over Berlin dropping food, fuel, medicine — even candy — to the two million people below. In his new book Daring Young Men, historian Richard Reeves tells the stories of the civilian airmen who carried out one of history’s largest humanitarian campaigns.

In this week’s installment of our ongoing series This I Believe, Bob talks with curator Dan Gediman about the essay of Ben Lucien Burman.  Author, journalist, and World War I veteran Burman wrote 22 books, including the bestselling Catfish Bend series about life in a fictitious Louisiana river town. Several of his books became movies, including Steamboat Round the Bend, which starred Will Rogers.

HOUR TWO

Edge of Sports host Dave Zirin gives Bob a preview of Super Bowl XLIV. Then, Bob talks with Keith Campbell, older brother of producer Chad Campbell, and life-long New Orleans resident about the Super Bowl. The Saints are appearing in that contest for the first time, and Bob talks with Campbell about what a win might mean for the city.

When Vince Lombardi became coach of the Green Bay Packers, the franchise was in a tail spin. It was the laughingstock of the National Football League – community owned, cheaply run, and outclassed on the field. When coaches and owners of other teams wanted to scare a little hard work into their own players, they threatened to ship the miscreants to Green Bay. In Lombardi’s first season with the Packers, he returned the team to respectability and began to lay the groundwork for his now legendary coaching ability. John Eisenberg talks with Bob about Lombardi, coaching philosophies, and current NFL teams that could use a Lombardi of their own. Eisenberg’s book is titled, That First Season.

Entertainment critic and former NEA Director of Literature David Kipen talks about the Oscar nominations, what’s new in theaters, and J. D. Salinger.

Bach’s Cello Suites are one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever composed. The melodies are ubiquitous in movies, television, commercials — and they have been played at major world events: the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9/11 memorial services, Ted Kennedy’s memorial service most recently. But the Cello Suites were almost never heard.  For centuries after Bach died, the music was lost, discovered accidentally and then popularized by the Spanish cellist Pablo Casals. Eric Siblin tells the story in a book called The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece. Finally, Bob looks ahead to this weekend’s Super Bowl with our regular sports analyst Dave Zirin and Keith Campbell, older brother of producer Chad Campbell, and life-long New Orleans resident. The Saints are appearing in football’s championship game for the first time, and Bob talks with Campbell about what a win might mean for the city.

With concerns about mounting national debt so intense now that President Obama has called for a partial spending freeze, Bob turns to David Walker for fiscal opinion and analysis.  Walker is a former comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office and he has just written Comeback America:  Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.  Then, the Berlin Airlift has been called the first battle of the cold war. For almost a year, young men flew old planes over Berlin dropping food, fuel, medicine — even candy — to the two million people below. In his new book Daring Young Men, historian Richard Reeves tells the stories of the civilian airmen who carried out one of history’s largest humanitarian campaigns.

Daniel Ellsberg graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, but interrupted his doctoral studies to enlist in the Marine Corps.  Today he says being a company commander was the most satisfying job he ever had.   Back in civilian life, Ellsberg went to work for the Pentagon and the Rand Corporation, eagerly participating in the escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.   On a visit to Vietnam, he actually went on patrol and fought with Marine units.   But it was also on this visit that Ellsberg learned the true nature of the Vietnamese insurgency—concluded that the war could not be won—and that American officials were lying about the prospects for success.   When the Pentagon commissioned the Rand Corporation to compile a history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, Ellsberg tried to share it with the doves in Congress.   He got a cool reception from Congressional members nervous about having access to classified information.  So Ellsberg gave the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and disappeared for a couple of weeks.   He became the most prominent whistle-blower in American history and the consequences of his action reached far beyond the war.   The Nixon Administration obtained a restraining order halting Times stories about the papers, so Ellsberg sent a copy to the Washington Post.   When the Post was restrained, Ellsberg gave a copy to the Boston Globe, then Newsday, and so on.   The papers fought the restraining orders all the way to the Supreme Court, resulting in the most important First Amendment decision ever.  The court ruled that prior restraint of the press’s right to publish was unconstitutional.   Ellsberg himself was charged with multiple violations of the Espionage Act, but the government bungled the case and charges were dropped when it was revealed that the presiding judge had been offered the job of FBI director.

Daniel Ellsberg, Tony Russo and Patricia Ellsberg

There were still more consequences.   Because of Ellsberg, the Nixon Administration created the plumbers unit—so-named because they were to plug leaks.   The plumbers broke into the offices of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist—and later broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office building in Washington.   Those actions ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation in disgrace and the elevation of Gerald Ford to the presidency, even though no American outside Ford’s Michigan Congressional district had ever voted for him.

That’s a whole bunch of history for a boy from Chicago whose mother made him practice piano.    Henry Kissinger called Ellsberg “the most dangerous man in America.”   That’s the title of a new documentary film by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith.   The filmmakers have the Nixon White House audio tapes at their disposal and hearing how much Ellsberg drove Nixon crazy is one of the more entertaining features of the documentary.   Ellsberg today opposes the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was very passionate about that in our interview.

It’s hard to think of Daniel Ellsberg as a “whistle-blower” because he sounded something much louder than a mere whistle.    He called out our highest leaders for their lies and had the courage to face the consequences for doing so.   History has vindicated him.

-Bob

Here is the link to Daniel Ellsberg’s personal website.

Read the Pentagon Papers.

Ellsberg’s 2002 memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers is called Secrets.

Click here for a link to the film’s website.

This is the link to see if and when the film will open in a theater near you.

Pre-order your own DVD copy of The Most Dangerous Man in America.

Click here to learn more about the filmmakers.

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, leaked 7,000 pages of top secret documents about the war to the press. It was a Defense Department study never meant to be seen by the public. Its publication in the New York Times proved the war was based on lies and eventually led to president Richard Nixon’s resignation and the end of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Bob talks with Ellsburg about his decision to release the “Pentagon Papers” and with filmmakers Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith about their new documentary called The Most Dangerous Man in America.