The Bob Edwards Show

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 30-31, 2014 HOUR TWO: The new film Love Is Strange stars Alfred Molina and John Lithgow as a long-time gay couple. After spending 39 years together, George and Ben finally get married but they do not get the storybook ending they hoped for. Molina plays George, a Catholic school teacher who is fired after the marriage, sending the newlyweds on a difficult journey. Molina joins Bob to discuss his career and the new movie. Love Is Strange is now in theaters. Many of us still remember baseball’s good old days: the ballparks, the legendary players, and the unforgettable play-by-play announcers who brought it right into our homes. Bob talks to Kevin Bender about many of those broadcasting Hall of Famers in his documentary Ball Talk: Baseball’s Voices of Summer. It’s available on DVD. Bob samples a New Orleans delicacy: a snoball from Hansen’s SnoBliz. Ashley Hansen Springgate runs the business started by her grandparents in 1939. In fact she still shaves the blocks of ice on the very same machine her grandfather invented and built decades ago. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 30-31, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Then, the latest essay from children’s author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. Bob talks with best-selling author and Time magazine book critic Lev Grossman about the challenges of writing the third volume of his trilogy. The Magician’s Land is the final installment of Grossman’s Fillory books. Finally, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 23-24, 2014 HOUR TWO: Bob talks with Michael Wallis, author of the book The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate. It’s a trip across the United States through a bygone era, before interstates turned roadside kitsch into monotony. http://Salon.com senior book critic Laura Miller shares with Bob books to help us through the final dog days of summer, and she offers a preview of this year’s best fall books. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsRadio

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 23-24, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Bob talks to Daniel Lieberman, author of The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease. Lieberman is the Chair of the Department of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. His book explains how millions of years of evolution have led our bodies to a paradoxical position. People in developed countries are living longer than ever, having vanquished diseases that used to kill people by the millions: smallpox, measles, polio and the plague. But we are also afflicted with more chronic, preventable illnesses and ailments, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, strokes, dementia, depression and anxiety. Then, the latest essay from children’s author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsRadio

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 16-17, 2014 HOUR TWO: Bob talks with Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan about his latest book. 'Not To Be Missed' blends cultural criticism with historical anecdotes, and charts Turan’s fifty-four favorite movies from a lifetime of watching films. Bob talks with Rhett Miller, the founder and lead singer of the Old 97’s, about the band’s two decades together and about the music from their latest album. Their CD is titled Most Messed Up. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 16-17, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Oceanographer Sylvia Earle has spent thousands of hours underwater studying our planet’s marine life and is alarmed by what she’s seen. After witnessing the glaring effects of pollution, overfishing and climate change, Earle says we must get past the mindset that our oceans are too big to fail. Bob talks with Earle and with co-director Robert Nixon about their new documentary Mission Blue. The film opens in select theaters this weekend and will be available everywhere on Netflix. Then, Bob talks with children’s author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater about how to teach dogs to read and about his recommendation of a new book titled Sniffer Dogs by Nancy Castaldo. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 9-10, 2014 HOUR TWO: Bob talks to actor Brendan Gleeson and John McDonagh who wrote and directed their new film, Calvary. Both men were raised Catholic and Gleeson stars as a beloved but besieged priest in a small Irish village who offers to sacrifice himself for the sins of others. Bob talks with Roger Blevins Jr. about the music of his oddly named soul band, Mingo Fishtrap. They combine the sounds of Memphis and New Orleans, with a little north Texas thrown in, to create a funky sound all their own. The group’s latest album is titled On Time. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwarsRadio http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsRadio

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 9-10, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Late summer is a perfect time to talk to the authors of The Songs of Insects. Naturalists Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger join Bob to talk about the chirps, trills and buzzes made by the bugs found in your own backyard. The title of science writer Marc Abrahams’ new book says it all: This Is Improbable Too: Synchronized Cows, Speedy Brain Extractors, and More WTF Research. Abrahams is the founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes, and in his new book shares with readers his odd collection of strange scientific findings. Then, the latest essay from children’s author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwarsRadio http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsRadio http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsRadio

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 2-3, 2014 HOUR TWO: Author David Baldacci’s books have sold more than 110 million copies worldwide. Now he turns his gifted and charmed pen to writing for young people, with his first fantasy young adult novel titled The Finisher. Bob talks to director Tate Taylor, and actor Chadwick Boseman about their new film, Get on Up. It’s a biopic about the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. The movie opens this weekend. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, August 2-3, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Then, the latest essay from children’s author and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. In 2011, more than a dozen teens in the small town of LeRoy, New York experienced “conversion disorder,” a mysterious malady that results in uncontrollable tics, stutters and seizures. Novelist Katherine Howe used this real-life incident as the basis for her new book, Conversion. Bob talks with The Bacon Brothers about their forthcoming album 36 Cents. The six-piece band features actor Kevin Bacon and his brother, Michael, a film score composer. Since making the band official in 1995, the Brothers have released seven albums. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 26-27, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. Then, we hear another commentary from children’s book writer and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. Director and actor Rob Reiner has been involved in some of the most beloved movies of the 20th century. His credits includes This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and Sleepless in Seattle. His new film, And So It Goes, stars Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas as next door neighbors who reluctantly look to each other for love late in life. Then, the latest installment of our ongoing series This I Believe. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 26-27, 2014 HOUR TWO: It’s been more than twenty years since Scott Turow helped invent the legal thriller genre with his number one bestseller, 'Presumed Innocent.' That book sold more than six million copies and was on The New York Times bestseller list for 45 weeks. Turow has remained a practicing lawyer over the years and has been very active in capital punishment reform. His latest suspense novel, Identical, is now available in paperback. Bob sits down with members of the Austin-based classical collective Mother Falcon for a private concert in our performance studio. They’ll play a few songs from their latest “orchestral rock” album titled You Knew and discuss the unique challenges they face when touring with more than a dozen members. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 19-20, 2014 HOUR TWO: Bob talks with director Richard Linklater about his latest movie Boyhood which he filmed over 12 years. The only special effect is watching the main character grow up on screen…starting in elementary school and ending on his first day in college. The story follows family moves, unfortunate stepfathers and broken hearts and stars newcomer Ellar Coltrane as Mason, and Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke as his biological parents. Social worker Dan Cohen’s work inspired the documentary, Alive Inside, which won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It shows the remarkable power of music on those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Cohen talks with Bob about the film and the experiences that inspired it. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 19-20, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss some of the books he’s reading this summer. In the early decades of the 20th century, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin envisioned a Communist Western Europe, turning his attention first to the United Kingdom. Writer Giles Milton tells the story of the men who stopped him in 'Russian Roulette: How British Spies Thwarted Lenin’s Plot for Global Revolution.' Then, we hear a new commentary from children’s book writer and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 12-13, 2014 HOUR TWO: Director John Carney went from first-time indie filmmaker working on a tiny budget with musicians instead of actors for his film Once, to seeing his film win an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 2008 Oscars. His new film, Begin Again, stars Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightly as two people brought together through the power of music. Begin Again is now in theatres. Musician Glen Phillips is best-known as the front man for the popular 1990s alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket. After a solo career through the 2000s, Phillips has reunited with Toad and they are touring this summer. Phillips talks with Bob about his work and the band’s latest album New Constellation. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 12-13, 2014 HOUR ONE: Ted Olson is an unlikely champion of gay marriage. He built his career as a very conservative jurist, serving two republican presidents and successfully arguing Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court. But it was also Olson who led the charge to overturn Proposition 8, California’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Olson tells the story of his work on the case in a new book titled Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality. Then, we hear a new commentary from children’s book writer and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 5-6, 2014 HOUR TWO: Dancer and choreographer Savion Glover made his Broadway debut at the age of 10, and won a Tony for Bring in ‘D Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk when he was 23. Glover’s latest show is “Savion Glover’s OM” at New York City’s Joyce Theater, and he joins Bob to talk about his life and career. Bob talks with director Steve James about his latest documentary, Life Itself. It tells the remarkable story of the late, great film critic Roger Ebert, and is based on his 2011 memoir of the same name. Ebert died last April following a decade-long battle with cancer. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, July 5-6, 2014 HOUR ONE: In his latest thriller, The Director, best-selling author and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius takes readers into the elusive world of the CIA, hackers and contemporary cyber espionage. In these days of emails, texts and tweets, society as a whole is losing its ability to communicate in more old fashioned ways. Gone are the days of the carefully handwritten and deeply meaningful letter. Shaun Usher is doing his part to preserve the interesting letters that do exist. He’s the editor of a new book titled Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience. Then, we hear a new commentary from children’s book writer and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, June 28-29, 2014 HOUR ONE: Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times, joins Bob to discuss the latest political news. For more than a decade, James Joseph Bulger Jr. was listed as one of the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitives. The former Boston gangster, better known as “Whitey,” was eventually found, tried and convicted of racketeering, extortion and money laundering. He was also found to be complicit in several area murders. The 84 year old is currently serving two consecutive life terms in a federal penitentiary. Filmmaker Joe Berlinger has made a new documentary about the story with a focus on last summer’s trial in Boston. Berlinger talks with Bob about his film Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger. Then, we hear a new commentary from children’s book writer and illustrator Daniel Pinkwater. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow

Bob Edwards Weekend, June 28-29, 2014 HOUR TWO: Bob talks with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton about her participation in Freedom Summer. Our interview will also feature clips from filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s documentary Freedom Summer. The film highlights an essential element of the civil rights movement: the patient and long-term efforts by outside activists and local citizens in Mississippi to organize communities and register black voters — even in the face of intimidation, physical violence and death. Freedom Summer premiered on PBS this week and is available on DVD. As we near the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Right Act, Bob speaks with two authors of new books that tell the story behind the creation of the landmark legislation. Clay Risen is an editor onThe New York Times op-ed page and the author of The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act and Todd Purdum is a senior writer at Politico and the author of An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -- http://BobEdwardsRadio.com http://fb.com/BobEdwardsShow http://twitter.com/BobEdwardsShow http://instagram.com/BobEdwardsShow