Scott Brown Jetting to Washington
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Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown officially becomes a U.S. Senator today, when he’s sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden. Brown will be the 41st Senate vote for Republicans, which is enough to block President Obama’s agenda. We speak with Rick Klein Senior Political Reporter for ABC News and author of the ABC political blog “The Note.”
Using the Airwaves for Political Force
Father Charles E. Coughlin broadcasts in Royal Oak, Michigan, Oct. 27, 1936. (AP)
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Before Rush Limbaugh, before Glenn Beck…there was “The Fighting Priest.” From his Michigan parish, Father Charles Coughlin parlayed the pulpit into political influence in the 1930s. Some 40 million listeners tuned in to his radio broadcasts each week, as Coughlin often took aim at then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We talk with Douglas McCollam, who profiles “The Fighting Priest” in the latest Columbia Journalism Review.
Car Talk Riffs on Toyota Recall
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The U.S. Transportation Department has opened an investigation into brake problems in Toyota’s Prius. We talk cars with Ray Magliozzi, half of the Click and Clack team, on NPR’’s Car Talk.
Can Wikipedia Keep Growing?
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It’s one of the most successful experiments on the web. There are now Wikipedias in about 250 languages, while the English version has grown to 25 times the size of the the Encyclopedia Britannica. But articles are skewed toward popular culture and the growth of entries has slowed, amid controversies about the site’s rules. So how can Wikipedia keep growing? We speak with Evgeny Morozov, contributing editor to Foreign Policy Magazine, where he also runs the “Net Effect” blog.
‘Love Letters and Some Not So Lovely Letters’
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For centuries, lovers have put pen to paper to express their feelings. But the course of romantic correspondence doesn’t always run smoothly. We talk about epistolary affection with Thomas Mallon, author of “Yours Ever: People and Their Letters.”
Music from the show
- Kar-Kar Madison, “Boubacar Traore”
- Charles Mingus, “Boogie Stop Shuffle”
- Moby, “Inside”
- Film School, “P.S.”
- Thelonius Monk, “Caravan”
- Massive Attack, “Future Proof”
- Paul Simon, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
- Gustav Holst “The Planets, Op. 32: Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age” performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis
The love letters discussion calls to mind Tom Gala’s song “Abelard and Heloise,” about how all the historical precedents pale in comparison to one’s own relationship.
Posted by Jim Kaliss, on February 4th, 2010 at 12:56 pm