Is ubiquitous optimism bad for America? We’ll talk this hour with writer Barbara Ehrenreich whose new book is “Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America” (Metropolitan Books, 2009).
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Finding Faith in Today's World
Where exactly does belief reside in the lives of modern people? We’ll talk this evening with bestselling author Mitch Albom, whose new non-fiction book is “Have a Little Faith: A True Story” (Hyperion, 2009). As the State Fair of Texas enters its final weekend, we’ll take a look at the art that resides at Fair Park year-round in tonight’s ArtandSeek segment.
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Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
How did the U.S.-Soviet nuclear competition affect the outcome of history? We’ll talk this hour with Pulitzer Prize winner Neil Sheehan, who profiles the Air Force officer who led the U.S. missile effort in his new book “A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon” (Random House, 2009).
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An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America
What exactly are exurbs and why are some white Americans moving to them in droves? We’ll spend the hour with Rich Benjamin, senior fellow at the non-partisan think tank Demos and author of the new book “Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America” (Hyperion, 2009).
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From the archives: Restoring and Renewing America
From the archives – Does the current economy really spell disaster for the country or does it offer us an unprecedented opportunity? In August we spoke with Kurt Andersen, host of PRI’s Studio 360 and author of the new book “Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America” (Random House, 2009).
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From the archives: Kids and Sports
From the archives – How does the American obsession with winning affect children playing little-league sports? We’ll talked last summer with Tom Farrey, author of the new book “Game On: How the Pressure to Win At All Costs Endangers Youth Sports and What Parents Can Do About It” (ESPN Books Trade Paperback, 2009).
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The Dallas Arts District and ATandT Performing Arts Center
Have you visited the newly completed Dallas Arts District yet? We’ll spend this hour with Veletta Forsythe Lill, Executive Director of the Dallas Arts District and Mark Nerenhausen, President and CEO of the ATandT Performing Arts Center which opens this week.
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Learning About America from Starbucks
What does your cup of coffee say about you? What does it say about society? We’ll talk this hour with Bryant Simon, Professor of History and Director of American Studies at Temple University and author of “Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America from Starbucks” (University of California Press, 2009).
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An Hour of Astronomy
What’s going on in astronomy these days? We’ll explore the Milky Way, colliding galaxies and find out if there’s really water on the Moon this hour with astronomer Ken Croswell whose new book for kids is “The Lives of Stars” (Boyds Mills Press, 2009).
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Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean
What does it take to reinvent one’s self? We’ll find out this hour with Roz Savage, who left a successful management career for a life of adventure. She tells the story in her new book “Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean” (Simon and Schuster, 2009).
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Power and Hope in Africa
What will it take to bring electricity and clean water to the underserved parts of the world? We’ll talk this evening with William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, author of “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope” (William Morrow, 2009). In the ArtandSeek segment, we’ll find out how the designs of the new ATandT Performing Arts Center became reality with Richard Pilbrow, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Theatre Projects Consultants.
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The Transformation of the Memorial Landscape
What do our monuments really say about our history and ourselves? We’ll talk this hour with University of Pittsburgh Chair of the History of Art and Architecture Kirk Savage, who’ll lecture at the Sixth Floor Museum this evening. His books include “Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape” (University of California Press, 2009) and “Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America” (Princeton, 1997).
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