Why would someone set out to invent a new language? From 12th Century Lingua Ignota to the chipmunk noise-based Dritok, we’ll explore a few of the almost 900 created tongues with linguist Arika Okrent, author of the new book “In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language” (Spiegel and Grau, 2009).
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What pressures do women face as they balance careers, relationships and the possibilities of motherhood? We’ll talk this hour with journalist Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, who tells her story and offers advice for others in her new book “In Her Own Sweet Time: Unexpected Adventures in Finding Love, Commitment, and Motherhood” (Basic Books, 2009).
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Where does the war in Iraq stand now and when might the U.S. troops stationed there be able to return home? We’ll spend this hour with veteran journalist Linda Robinson, author of the recent book “Tell Me How This Ends: General David Petraeus and the Search for a Way Out of Iraq” (Public Affairs, 2008). Robinson will address World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth this evening.
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What exactly are the benefits of “going green” and will green economic models really pay off as promised? We’ll get a glimpse of the realities behind the spin this hour with UCLA professor of economics Matthew E. Kahn. His piece “Think Again: The Green Economy” appears in the current issue of Foreign Policy Magazine.
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Are genetically modified foods really dangerous or are they just misunderstood? We’ll find out this hour with Portland State University biologist, Dr. Lisa H. Weasel, author of the new book “Food Fray: Inside the Controversy over Genetically Modified Food” (AMACOM, 2009).
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What is happening to the jury trial and what does it mean for the future of American justice? We’ll talk this hour with Robert P. Burns, professor at the Northwestern University School of Law and author of the new book “The Death of the American Trial” (Chicago, 2009).
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If you had the chance to do it all over again would you? Robin Hemley did. We’ll talk with him this hour about the experiences that led to his new book “Do-Over!: In which a forty-eight-year-old father of three returns to kindergarten, summer camp, the prom, and other embarrassments” (Little, Brown, 2009).
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According to the United Nation’s World Food Program, 25,000 adults and children die every day from hunger and hunger-related causes. How can the world’s rich help solve this problem? We’ll talk this hour with Frederick Kaufman, whose piece “Let Them Eat Cash: Can Bill Gates Turn Hunger into Profit?” appears in the current issue of Harper’s Magazine.
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Who were Masters and Johnson and what motivated their pioneering sexuality research? We’ll talk this hour with journalist and biographer Thomas Maier who tells their stories in the new book “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love” (Basic Books, 2009).
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Everyone makes mistakes, but exactly why do people foul things up? We’ll find out this hour with Michael Kaplan, who with his mother Ellen, has just published “Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human” (Bloomsbury, 2009).
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Just how influential is “emerging” media? We’ll explore the increasingly significant role of technology and the web this hour with journalist Eric Boehlert, author of “Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press” (Free press, 2009).
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How close did the nation come to a second Civil War in 1868? We’ll talk this hour with historian and attorney David O. Stewart, whose new book is “Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy” (Simon and Schuster, 2009).
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