Program 03-05-11-A

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To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio

In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Simon Winchester tells the remarkable story of Krakatoa. The volcanic eruption spewed chunks of land 25 miles into the air. The blast was heard 3-thousand miles away. And it kicked up monstrous tidal waves that killed nearly 40–thousand people. We'll also talk with the sons of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the men who first climbed Mount Everest.

SEGMENT 1:

Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay are the sons of the first men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Both men are climbers and have made a documentary film called "Surviving Everest" for National Geographic which details their own expedition up the mountain. Hillary and Nording talk with Steve Paulson about the mountain. And we hear clips from their film.

SEGMENT 2:

Simon Winchester tells Jim Fleming about the enormous volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. The tidal waves killed almost forty thousand people, and the resulting social chaos gave rise to the first incidents of Muslim clerics fomenting violent uprisings against Westerners. Winchester's book is "Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883. And Tom Hunter sings "Harry Truman of Mount St. Helens."

SEGMENT 3:

John Taliaferro (pronounced Tolliver) is the author of "Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mt. Rushmore." Taliaferro tells Anne Strainchamps about Gutzon Borglum, the artist who designed the statues, and describes the impact of seeing this monument to democracy. Also, Mark Spragg grew up at Holm Lodge, the oldest dude ranch in Wyoming. He tells Steve Paulson about growing up on horseback in the American mountain West. Spragg is the author of a memoir, "Where Rivers Change Direction," and a novel, "The Fruit of Stone."

Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 03-05-11-A.

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Books:

• Mark Spragg, Where Rivers Change Direction (Riverhead Books)
• John Taliaferro, Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mt. Rushmore (Public Affairs)
• Simon Winchester, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 (Harper Collins)

Music:

• After Return:
  The Billys w/ "Old St. Helen"
  on "The Time Has Come"
  Bang-a-Bucket-Music

  After Hillary & Norgay:
  Kraton Yogyakarta w/ "Gendhing Lung Gadhung"
  on "Dances of the World"
  Elektra Nonesuch

  After Winchester:
  Tom Hunter w/ "Harry Truman (of Mt. St. Helens)"
  on "You Gave Me This Song"
  Long Sleeve Records

  After Taliaferro:
  Paul Winter w/ "Air for Keetu"
  on "Canyon Lullaby"
  Earth Music Productions

  After Spragg:
  Tim O'Brien w/ "A Mountaineer is Always Free"
  on "The Crossing"
  Alula Records
  

Distribution dates:

week of 05/11/2003 - hour 1

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

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