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LOVE/HATE

Program 09-12-13-A

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Andre Agassi says he always hated tennis, even though it's what made him rich and famous. But maybe that's not surprising, considering how his father used to browbeat him into hitting 25-hundred balls a day when he was seven years old, and later sent him off to a tennis academy., which Agassi calls a "glorified prison camp." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll talk with Andre Agassi about the fine line between love and hate.

SEGMENT 1:

Andre Agassi retired from tennis in 2006 and has published his memoir, "Open." He tells Steve Paulson about his father who was driven to make him a champion, but whom he does not consider to have been abusive, and says he's ultimately a different sort of person than his great rival Pete Sampras. The unedited version of this interview is available as a Web Extra HERE

SEGMENT 2:

Washington Post reporter David Finkel was embedded with the soldiers of Battalion 2-16 for eight months in 2007 during the Surge in Iraq. He's the author of "The Good Soldier," an account of his time with them. He talks about it with Jim Fleming. Also, Anne Strainchamps talks with biologist Tyler Volk and science writer Dorion Sagan, co-authors of "Sex and Death" or "Death and Sex" if you flip the book upside down. They've each taken on half the job, writing a philosophical and scientific, but also playful, meditation on the deep connection between sex and death.

SEGMENT 3:

Laura Waterman is the author of a memoir called "Losing the Garden: The Story of A Marriage." The book explores how Laura could have permitted her beloved husband of thirty years to kill himself while suffering a profound depression. Steve Paulson got to know the Watermans, and prepared this report, using music performed by Guy Waternman.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-12-13-A.

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Books & CDs:

Andre Agassi, Open: an autobiography (Knopf)
David Finkel, The Good Soldiers (FSG)
Dorion Sagan & Tyler Volk, Sex & Death (Chelsea Green)
Laura Waterman, Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage (Shoemaker Hoard)

SPECIAL:

• The Complete Uncut Interview with Andre Agassi:
  right-click and choose "save as" to download or left-click to listen
  Steve Paulson with Andre Agassi

Music:

• After Agassi:
  Chet Baker w/ “Summertime”
  On “In Paris”
  Verve
  
• After Finkel:
  Haran w/ “By Way of Haran”
  On “Pharoah’s Daughter”
  Oy!hoo Records
  
• After Volk & Sagan:
  Don Byron w/ “Frasquita Serenade”
  On “Bug Music”
  Nonesuch Records
  
• In Waterman:
  Music played by Guy Waterman

Distribution dates: week of 10/17/2010 - hour 2 week of 12/13/2009 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

Listen!

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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