Who was Charles Schulz? According to biographer David Michaelis, the world-famous cartoonist and creator of Peanuts was more complex than many of his fans suspected. We’ll spend this hour with Michaelis, author of the highly-acclaimed new book “Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography” (HarperCollins, 2007).
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Think you know the history of Thanksgiving? What about the Pilgrims? We’ll learn just how much we really know this hour with Kenneth C. Davis, author of “Don’t Know Much About History” and more recently, “Don’t Know Much About Anything” (Harper, 2007).
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What would you do if you’re hometown was determined to be a toxic disaster? This is the question that has bitterly divided the town of Picher, Oklahoma, also known as the Tar Creek Superfund site. We’ll spend this hour with producer/director Julianna Brannum and executive producer Rob Tranchin, whose film about the town, “The Creek Runs Red,” airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tomorrow night.
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What can art tell us about how the brain works? We’ll find out this hour with Jonah Lehrer, whose new book “Proust Was A Neuroscientist” (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) examines the relationships between art, the senses, memory, and the perception of reality.
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With their 3000th adult liver transplant, Baylor University Medical Center has just reached a transplant milestone achieved only by two other programs in the country. We’ll explore the program this evening and talk about organ donation and transplantation with Dr. G??ran Klintmalm, Chairman and Chief of the Baylor Regional Transplant Institute. We’ll also be joined by Pam Silvestri of the Southwest Transplant Alliance.Photographer Jim Keen will join us during the Scene segment to talk about the vanishing way-of-life known as cattle ranching and his new book “Great Ranches of the West” (KM Media, 2007).
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To Americans who grew up in the 20th Century, Daniel Boone is the larger-than-life, but relatively simple character portrayed by Fess Parker in the 1960s TV series. The real Daniel Boone was a complex person, a settler and conservator, revolutionary and legislator. We’ll get a glimpse of the real historical figure this hour with Robert Morgan, author of “Boone: A Biography” (Algonquin, 2007).
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How will humans interact with robots in the future? According to artificial intelligence expert David Levy, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Levy’s new book is “Love + Sex With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships” (Harper Collins, 2007). We’ll talk with David Levy this hour.
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From the archives – Anyone in the broadcasting business around here knows the name Bill Mercer. And anyone who considers themselves a sports fan has probably heard his voice. In September we spent an hour with Mercer, whose 50+ year career as a broadcaster and broadcasting instructor continues today. His recent memoir is “Play-By- Play: Tales from a Sports Broadcasting Insider” (Taylor Trade, 2007).
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The strong alliance between the United States and Turkey dates back to the early years of the Cold War. But today, new challenges threaten this longstanding partnership. This hour, we’ll air the America Abroad special “Allies at a Crossroad: Turkey and the United States.” More information is available at www.americaabroadmedia.org.
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You know Scott Simon. He’s the guy you share your coffee with on Saturday mornings. He’s the ever-frustrated Chicago Cubs fan who you love to commiserate with. He’s the host of Weekend Edition Saturday from NPR. We’ll spend this hour with Scott Simon, who’s in town to speak at the Highland Park Literary Festival tonight.
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What do parents who adopt children from abroad really know about the child’s circumstances and background? Our guest this hour, journalist Elizabeth Larsen, plunged headfirst into the world of international adoption when her family adopted a young girl from Guatemala. She writes about the experience in “Did I Steal My Daughter?” which appears in the November/December issue of Mother Jones Magazine.
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We’ve all seen pageants, but some of the skills required to win the Miss Navajo Nation beauty pageant might surprise you. We’ll find out what it takes to be Miss Navajo this hour with Sarah Ann Johnson Luther who wore the crown in 1966. We’ll also talk with her son, documentarian Billy Luther, whose film “MISS NAVAJO” airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tomorrow night.
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