TREES

Program 03-08-03-B

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To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio

The Baobab looks like an upside down elephant, it's enormous and gray, with little sprays of green at the top. According to an African creation myth, the Great Spirit gave each animal a gift. The hyena got the baobab and tossed it aside in disgust. But Thomas Pakenham thinks it's one of the most magnificent trees around. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge a tree lover introduces us to weird and wonderful trees from around the world. And, the glory days of America's elms.

		click on the images to see larger pictures

SEGMENT 1:

Thomas Pakenham's passion for trees has led him all over the world. He tells Anne Strainchamps that trees can be majestic, sacred, and haunting. And Judy Pascoe tells Steve Paulson about her novel "Our Father Who Art in a Tree." A young girl's father dies unexpectedly, but she finds his spirit lives in the backyard tree.

SEGMENT 2:

It's too bad trees can't talk to us, but storytellers can and Wayne Pauly has a good story about a young woman, a young man, and a tree. And the story of the American Elm. Thomas Campanella tells Jim Fleming the tree once spread its arching branches over trees from one end of the country to the other, but in the end it was loved to death. His book is "Republic of Shade."

SEGMENT 3:

Nadine Svoboda's been all over the world listening to forests. She records their sounds for the British Library Sound Archive, and she tells Jim Fleming about the fascinating life you can hear in the trees.

Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 03-08-03-B.

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Books:

• Thomas J. Campanella, Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm (Yale)
• Thomas Pakenham, Remarkable Trees of the World (Norton)
• Judy Pascoe, Our Father Who Art in a Tree (Random House)

Music:

• -Ce He Mise le Ulaingt? (The Two Trees)/ Loreena McKennitt/ The Mask and Mirror/
  Warner Brothers
• -Fourth Autumn/ Ellis Marsalis/ Piano in E/ Rounder
• -Willow Tree/ G Love and Special Sauce/ Yeah, It's That Easy/ Sony
• -Memory of Trees/ Enya/ Memory of Trees/ Warner Brothers
• -Morning/ Sountrack from the movie "Focus"/ Milan, BMG

Distribution dates:

week of 06/20/2004 - hour 2 week of 08/03/2003 - hour 2

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

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