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THE BIRDS AND THE BEES
To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio
David Rothenburg is a philosopher and a jazz clarinetist,
who also loves birds. So one day he sat down in the National Aviary
in Pittsburgh and started playing music. Lo and behold, a white-crested
laughing thrush started singing with him, riffing on the tunes he
played. Since then Rothenburg has played music with birds all over
the world, from Australia to Finland. In this hour of the Peabody-Award
winning program To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll delve
into one of life's mysteries: why do birds sing?
SEGMENT 1:
Musician and philosopher David Lee Rothenberg
plays duets with birds all over the world. He's searching for
an answer to the question "Why Birds Sing" and tells
Steve Paulson about his ideas. He has a new CD and Book with that
title, and we hear from both. Also, a passion for ravens from
our producer Charles Monroe-Kane. The raven has meaning
for him from legend and art, to the point where he's had one tatooed
on his forearm.
SEGMENT 2:
Did you know nature is good for you? Richard
Louv can cite studies that show crime rates go up in cities
with less green space. In his book "Last Child in the Woods"
he lays out a case for what he calls "nature deficit disorder."
He tells Steve Paulson what kids are missing. Holley Bishop
is a New York literary agent who once wouldn't have cared about
nature. These days she's flat-out in love with bees, and has written
"Robbing the Bees - A Biography of Honey." She tells
Anne Strainchamps how she got started. And, to make it real, our
intern John Pederson visited a local bee-keeper, recording
the sounds of the bees on his microphone and headphones - not
to mention his arms and head.
SEGMENT 3:
Kathleen Dean Moore is a philosopher at Oregon
State University, but her passion is an inhospitable island off
the coast of Alaska. She tells Jim Fleming that on Pine Island
you can expect rain, fog, desolation, and a world of beauty that
comes from the reality of natural surroundings. Her book is "The
Pine Island Paradox."
Cassette copies are available
at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 05-05-29-B.
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Books:
- Holley Bishop, Robbing the Bees - a Biography
of Honey (Free Press)
- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods
(Alqonquin)
- Kathleen Dean Moore, The Pine Island
Paradox (Milkweed)
- David Rothenberg, Why Birds Sing:
a journey into the mystery of bird song (Basic Books)
Music:
- All songs in David Rothenberg's
interview from his CD "Why Birds
Sing":
--"Temperate Woodland"
--"White Crested Laugh"
--"Sheer Frustration, Really"
--"Trio Menura"
Terra Nova Music
- After Monroe-Kane
Radiohead with Running With Scissors
- After Louv:
"Message for a Friend"
on Charlie Haden & Path Metheny's "Missouri Sky"
CD
Verve
- After Bishop & Pederson:
"Flight of the Bumblebee"
on Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin's "Hush" CD
Sony
- Music in Kathleen Moore's interview:
--"Mama Tierra"
--"Papa Cielo"
on Medwyn Goodall's "Medicine Woman II"
New World Music
Distribution dates:
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Questions and comments can
be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org
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