Iran Elections
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Iranians are streaming to the polls in a momentous election that will decide whether hardline conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins a second term, or whether reformer Mir Hossain Mousavi takes office on a wave of support from young people and intellectuals. Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the Los Angeles Times is our guest.
Miracle Ball
Brooklyn Dodgers left fielder Andy Pafko watches as "the miracle ball" sails over the wall Oct. 3, 1951. (AP)
There’s a million dollar bounty on a baseball – the one that’s been missing ever since New York Giant legend Bobby Thomson hit it out of the Polo Grounds in 1951 to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in a winner-take-all playoff game. Brian Biegel says he knows where the ball is and he tells his part baseball, part detective story in a new book and a documentary film called “Miracle Ball: My Hunt for the Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” We talk with Biegel and the man who hit that famous home run, Bobby Thomson.
Letters
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We hear from listeners about recent stories, including the murder of Dr George Tiller.
Hate Crimes in America
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We speak to hate crime expert Mark Potok of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center about this week’s shooting at the US Holocaust Museum and the murder of abortion provider, Dr George Tiller. He says hate crimes are on the rise — as the nation’s demographics change and the economy worsens.
Carl Sandburg’s Guitar
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Everyone knows Carl Sandburg the poet, but did you know he was also a folk singer and went to parties with Marilyn Monroe? A New Jersey man has the photos to prove it. He also owns a guitar that Sandburg once owned. Ken Lelen is now selling that guitar and all the Sandburg material that comes with it. He joins us to talk about Carl Sandburg, the folk singer.
Music from the Show
- Ahmad Jamal, “Patterns”
- Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
- Thelonius Monk, “Caravan”
- The Lickets, “A Crowd of Pimps in the Rain”
- Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
- Kenny Rankin, “Peaceful”
- Jimmy Cox, “Knowbody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” performed by Ken Lelen
- Thomas “Fats” Waller, Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf, “Ain’t Misbehaving” performed by Ken Lelen
- Bobby Troup, “Route 66″ performed by The Ken Lelen Trio
I caught part of the segement about the Shot Heard Round The World, and don’t know if you mentioned Don Delillo’s book, Underworld. It’s a great book – a meditation on The Bomb, told in reverse chronological order. One unifying thread is the ball, which is held by different characters in the book throughout the years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(DeLillo_novel)
Posted by David Harlow, on June 12th, 2009 at 11:32 amIt’s amazing that Ann Coulter wasn’t included in the long list of conservative spokespeople that Jon Voigt named in the portion of his speech aired on today’s program. It really says something when she’s too controversial to be included in the company of such inflammatory personalities.
Posted by M. Trent, on June 12th, 2009 at 11:48 amM. Trent, if you listen closely, Ann Coulter was included on Jon Voight’s list. It went by quickly.
Posted by Allison, on June 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pmAlison, it’s too bad Jon Voight didn’t go by quickly and take Ann Coulter with him.
Posted by Jim, on June 12th, 2009 at 5:49 pm[...] [...]
Posted by “I’m bringing home a loud and monstrous device called a guitar.” » Unstressed, on June 16th, 2009 at 2:10 pm