What is behind the commercialization of Christmas? According to journalist Jeff Guinn, it all started in 1841 when a Philadelphia merchant sought to increase holiday trade at his dry goods store. Guinn intertwines the history of America’s celebration of Christmas with a tale of his own in his new book “The Great Santa Search” (Tarcher/Penguin, 2006). Jeff Guinn will join us for the hour.
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Is poverty moving to the suburbs? According to a recent report by the Brookings Institution, for the first time, the majority of the nation’s poor are suburban. We’ll talk with Brookings Fellow Alan Berube, co-author of “Two Steps Back: City and Suburban Poverty Trends 1999-2005.” We’ll also be joined by Paul Jargowsky, Associate Professor of Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas.
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When is the right time to send holiday cards? How should you respond to an unexpected or unwanted gift? Is it appropriate to take your kids to a friend’s holiday party? We’ll talk about holiday etiquette this hour with Cindy Post Senning, Ed.D., Emily Post’s great-granddaughter and a spokesperson and author for The Emily Post Institute.
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What would prompt you to consider psychological treatment for your infant or toddler? Are anxious parents responsible for the growing acceptance and popularity of infant psychotherapy? Can doctors help troubled children more effectively if they begin treatment as early as possible? We’ll spend this hour with Dr. Jean M. Thomas, a psychiatrist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
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Are you wondering what wines to serve this holiday season? Perhaps you’d just like to expand your wine knowledge. We’ll talk wine this hour with sommelier, wine expert, and educator Darryl Beeson. We’ll also take your calls and answer all your wine-related questions.
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What are your favorite pop-culture moments of 2006 and what excites you about 2007? We’ll take a look back and peer into the future this hour with Andrea Grimes of the Dallas Observer, Cary Darling of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Tom Maurstad of the Dallas Morning News.
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What is the back-story to the Book of Revelation? Jonathan Kirsch writes about the book that was almost cut from the New Testament, but survived to have a central role in foreign policy and the lives of millions today. Kirsch will join us this hour to discuss his new book “A History of the End of the World” (Harper San Francisco, 2006).
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Five years after 9/11, American Muslims are still living in the shadow of the attacks and the ongoing War on Terror. What are their lives like and how do they cope? Journalist Geneive Abdo set out to answer these questions. She’ll join us this hour to discuss what she learned and her new book “Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11” (Oxford, 2006).
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Who will replace John Bolton as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations? We’ll discuss the field of potential nominees and the future of U.S. – U.N. relations this hour with Christine Chen, senior editor of Foreign Policy Magazine and Dr. Joel Westra, Political Science professor and fellow at SMU’s John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies.
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Does the United States Government use propaganda for public relations? According to Nancy Snow, associate professor of communications at California State University in Fullerton and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, “we’re living in the age of manipulation of rhetorical labels…and losing our ability to lead in the world because we project more of an air of declaration than active listening.” Snow will join us this hour to discuss the modern use of propaganda and her latest book “The Arrogance of American Power: What U.S. Leaders Are Doing Wrong and Why It’s Our Duty to Dissent” (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006).
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How do fine artists bridge the gap between creating the work they need to create and earning the living they need to survive? We’ll find out this hour with four artists who are doing just that – Jeremy Fish, Travis Millard, Mel Kadel, and Michael Sieben. They’re all in town for a show “Low Tech High Life” which opens Saturday at Art Prostitute.
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How will a new Secretary of Defense handle the situation in Iraq? What are the bottom line suggestions of the Baker/Hamilton Iraq Study Group? What changes are in store for the U.S. military in the short and long term? Max Boot, senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “War Made New: Technology, Warfare, and the Course of History 1500 to Today” (Gotham Books, 2006), will join us this hour.
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