What sacrifices would you make to achieve a life-long dream? Journalist W. Hodding Carter chronicles his personal catharsis in the new book “Off the Deep End: The Probably Insane Idea that I Could Swim My Way Through a Midlife Crisis – And Qualify for the Olympics” (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2008).
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Gasoline is expensive, but have you compared gas prices to what you’re paying for bottled water? Here’s a hint – a 20 ounce bottle of water at $1.99 is equivalent to $12.74 per gallon – for water. And we pay these prices every day. We’ll spend this hour with journalist Elizabeth Royte, author of “Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It” (Bloomsbury, 2008).
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Have you visited Mexico City? Journalist David Lida did 20 years ago and was mesmerized by the place and its residents. He moved back for good 5 years later. Lida’s new book is “First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, The Capital of the 21st Century” (Riverhead Books, 2008). We’ll talk with Lida this hour.
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What will you do this year to reduce your impact on the environment? In honor of Earth Day, we discussed the options with Melinda Haggerty, Sustainability Communications Coordinator for the City of Plano’s Live Green Initiative.
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Remember back before there was ever talk of Generation Y or the Millennials? Remember that time before anyone had really heard of email let alone used it? Remember when Generation X was the problem generation? We looked back in April with Details editor-at-large Jeff Gordinier. His recent book claims that Gen X has actually (and rather quietly) changed the world. It’s called “X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking” (Viking, 2008).
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Could you live “off the grid” for a yeareat locally, use solar power, and erase your carbon footprint? Doug Fine tried it and learned more than he thought he would about himself and abut what “green” really means. He joined us for an hour to discuss his book “Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living” (Villard, 2008).
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What can we do about Darfur? While the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East occupy much of our attention, Ruth Messinger, Director of the American Jewish World Service, reminds us that we have a responsibility to act in other places in the world. She addressed the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Dallas in March and spent an hour with us while she was here.
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Is there a better way to divorce? Collaborative law provides a new model for divorce dispute resolution – where the object is to settle the case without going to court. A few months ago we explored the less-messy divorce and emerging trends in litigation with North Texas attorneys S. Camille Milner and Kevin R. Fuller.
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What factors influence a woman’s image of her own body and how can women achieve body acceptance? Earlier this year we talked with SMU’s Psychology Professor Katherine Presnell and Journalism Professor Camille Kraeplin who are studying how the media influences body image and how cognitive dissonance exercises may help.
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Where is dance headed and how is creativity deployed in the arts? We talked with award-winning choreographer, dancer and director Bill T. Jones last March. Jones was in town to address the Nasher Salon at the Nasher Sculpture Center.
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What does the future hold for the United States on the global stage? According to former governor and U.S. senator David Boren, the decisions we make now will secure our country’s future. Boren, currently president of the University of Oklahoma, was in town last March to discuss his new book “A Letter to America” (University of Oklahoma Press, 2008). He joined us for an hour.
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Can the U.S. actually achieve energy independence? In March we explored the idea with a confirmed doubter, journalist Robert Bryce. Bryce, who has reported extensively on energy for nearly 20 years, argues that the bi-partisan call for energy independence is essentially “meaningless rhetoric” in his recent book “Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of ‘Energy Independence’” (Public Affairs, 2008).
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