Where does talent come from? Is it natural? Does it occur by chance? We’ll talk this hour with journalist Daniel Coyle who visited and studied a variety of “talent hotbeds” to research his new book, “The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.” (Bantam, 2009).
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How easily can a life be changed? We’ll spend this hour with documentarian Megan Mylan, whose Academy Award-winning film, “Smile Pinki,” follows a young girl from rural India as she undergoes surgery for a cleft lip. The film will debut on HBO on Wednesday, June 3rd.
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Will Pakistan continue to destabilize or will the country come to grips with the growing power of the Taliban and the other issues that may threaten its very existence? We’ll talk this hour with veteran journalist and New America Foundation fellow Nicholas Schmidle. His new book is “To Love or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan” (Henry Holt, 2009).
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Is a good portion of your day dedicated to Twitter and Facebook? According to our guest this hour, you may have a problem. We’ll talk with Emory University Professor Mark Bauerlein, author of “The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30)” (Tarcher Penguin, 2009).
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What is the future of America in light of the country’s internal struggles over war, religion, immigration and limited natural resources? We’ll spend this hour with Columbia University Professor Simon Schama whose new book is “The American Future: A History” (Ecco, 2009).
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How do memory, place and time influence character and a writer’s creativity? We’ll talk this hour with award-winning playwright, novelist and actor Eric Bogosian who’ll be in town to speak to the Writer’s Studio. His new book is “Perforated Heart” (Simon and Schuster, 2009).
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Why would someone set out to read a dictionary from end to end and what might they learn along the way? We’ll find out this hour with author and bibliophile Ammon Shea, whose new book is “Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages” (Perigree, 2009).
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Do boys and girls require different sets of tools to be prepared for life? We’ll spend this hour with family therapist and best-selling author Michael Gurian. The third volume in his trilogy of books on boys is “The Purpose of Boys: Helping Our Sons Find Meaning, Significance, and Direction in Their Lives” (Jossy-Bass, 2009).
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Remember the first “larger than life” Texan to live in the Whitehouse? We’ll talk this evening with Russ Whitlock, superintendent of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
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You get a little taste of it when you eat vegetables from a backyard garden or a local farmer’s market. But what was America’s food really like in the 1930s and early 40s? We’ll explore that culinary culture this hour with bestselling author and James A. Beard Award-winning food writer Mark Kurlansky. His new book is “The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food–Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation’s Food Was Seasonal” (Riverhead, 2009).
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What is a creative life and what’s the best way to mentor the next generation of artists? We’ll discuss the evolving artistic climate of the new century and the world of dance this hour with legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp who’s in town to speak at the Nasher Salon Series this evening.
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How does an overweight, middle-aged father of three prepare to climb fifty-four 14,000 foot peaks in a year? We’ll find out this hour with journalist Mark Obmascik whose new book is “Halfway to Heaven: My White-Knuckled and Knuckleheaded Quest for the Rocky Mountain High” (Free Press, 2009).
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