What does it take to march 1600 miles across one of the most desolate deserts in the world? We’ll spend this hour with adventurer Helen Thayer, whose new book is “Walking the Gobi: A 1,600 Mile-Trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair” (The Mountaineers, 2007).
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What is news? How is the media landscape changing? We’ll talk this evening with Ray Suarez, Senior Correspondent for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, who’s in town for the Greater Dallas Planning Council’s Metromorphosis Symposium.J. Larry Allums, Executive Director of The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture will join us during the Scene segment to discuss how culturally literacy is more important than ever in our fast-paced, entertainment-driven society.
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What does it take to sell millions of books? Just ask best-selling author Ken Follett. Follett’s 17 best-sellers have included “Eye of the Needle” and “On Wings of Eagles.” His latest book, “World Without End” (Dutton, 2007), is the long-awaited sequel to 1989’s “Pillars of the Earth.” We’ll talk with Ken Follett this hour.
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Just how big is the teen runaway problem in North Texas? According to Promise House, over 1000 area teens are without a permanently place to stay each night. We’ll discuss the “Who’s Sofa Surfing Tonight?” campaign with Dr. Harriet Boorhem, the executive director of Promise House this hour.
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The brain is truly powerful. Just how powerful it is, however, is still a big mystery. We’ll shed a little more light on the mind-body connection this hour with New York Times science writer Sandra Blakeslee, who with her son has written the new book “The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better” (Random House, 2007).
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What’s the latest news in the fight against breast cancer? We’ll explore advances in risk assessment, prevention, diagnosis and treatment this hour with Dr. David Euhus and Dr. Marilyn Leitch of U.T. Southwestern Medical Center.
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Where is space exploration headed? Will we return to the Moon or make it to Mars? We’ll find out this hour with everyone’s favorite NPR space program reporter, Pat Duggins. Pat also works as senior news analyst at WMFE-FM in Orlando Florida. His new book is “Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program” (University Press of Florida, 2007).
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What is the extent of Vice President Dick Cheney’s power and how have his three-decades in and out of government service expanded that power? We’ll spend this hour with Michael Kirk, whose 10th documentary about the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 policies debuts the PBS FRONTLINE season tonight. It’s called “Cheney’s Law.”
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Paula LaRocque wants us to write well. She also wants us to spell and pronounce words correctly too. To that end, she’ll join us for a two-hour special program today to discuss writing, language, and more. Her new book is “On Words: Insight into How Our Words Work – And Don’t” (Marion Street Press, 2007). And by now you’re probably familiar with her well-known manual “The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well” (Marion Street Press, 2003).
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How does one become president of a nation? We’ll find out this evening with former Mexican President Vicente Fox. He tells the story of his journey from humble beginnings in rural Mexico to the presidency of one of the world’s largest and most important countries in a new book “Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President” (Viking, 2007). Fox is in town for a number of events including appearances at the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth and the Cornerstone Speakers Initiative at Highland Park United Methodist Church.Artist Mel Zeigler will join us for the Scene segment this evening to discuss his process and how culture and the collective experience are reflected in his work and the work of other artists today. Zeigler’s in town for this weekend’s symposium “Collecting and Collectivity” at Southern Methodist University.
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October 2007 marks an important anniversary. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. They also launched the global competition for the military domination of space. We’ll look back this hour with Matthew Brzezinski, author of the new book “Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age” (Times Books, 2007). Brzezinski will speak to the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth this evening.
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Fans and regular readers of Tom Batiuk’s (rhymes with attic) comic strip Funky Winkerbean know the outcome of character Lisa Moore’s battle with cancer. Batiuk has just released the full story in a new book “Lisa’s Story: The Other Shoe” (Kent State University Press, 2007). He’s speaking throughout October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and he’ll be our guest this hour.
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