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IDEAS

Program 06-02-26-B

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What's the big idea? Well, it turns out there are three of them...the soul, Europe and the experiment. Those are the three big ideas that Peter Watson uses to focus his history of ideas. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll talk about the history of ideas...from fire to Freud.

SEGMENT 1:

Peter Watson is the author of "Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, From Fire to Freud." Watson tells Steve Paulson that the history of ideas can be organized according to three really big ideas – the soul, Europe and the experiment. Also, Nicholas Ostler is the author of "Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World." Ostler talks to Jim Fleming about how languages spread and the similarities and differences between Chinese and English.

SEGMENT 2:

Drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs is the author of "Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History." Briggs talks to TTBOOK producer Doug Gordon about a few of the most controversial films of our times Including David Cronenberg's "Crash," Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" and "Shaft," and we hear some clips.

SEGMENT 3:

Novelist Jonathan Coe is the author of the award-winning biography, "Like A Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson." Coe tells Anne Strainchamps about the careeer of experimental novelist B.S. Johnson who tried to reinvent the novel with every book he wrote. Johnson's innovations included a book with holes cut through the pages and a novel published in a box so that its unbound chapters could be read in any order.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 06-02-26-B.

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Books:

• Peter Watson, Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, From Fire to Freud (HarperCollins)
  
• Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World (HarperCollins)
  
• Joe Bob Briggs, Profoundly Disturbing: Shocking Movies That Changed History! (Universe)
• Jonathan Coe, Like A Fiery Elephant: The Story of B.S. Johnson (Continuum)

Links:

• -- Nicholas Ostler
  http://www.chibcha.demon.co.uk/cv.htm
  
• -- Joe Bob Briggs
  http://www.joebobbriggs.com/
  
• -- Jonathan Coe
  http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth22
  
• -- B.S. Johnson
  http://www.bsjohnson.info/
  

Clips:

• -- from David Cronenberg's "Crash" (1996)
  (New Line Home Video)
  
• -- "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Intro" from the CD,
  "Russ Meyer's Original Motion Picture Soundtracks"
  (Q.D.K. Media)
  
• -- from "The Wild Bunch -- The Original Director's Cut
  (Two-Disc Special Edition)"
  (Warner Home Video)
  
• -- from "Shaft"
  (Warner Home Video)

Music:

• -- " (Theme From) To The Best Of Our Knowledge"/They
  Might Be Giants
  http://www.tmbg.com/
  
• -- "Yip Roc Heresy"/Slim Gaillard & His Middle Europeans
  from the box set, "The Beat Generation" (Rhino/Wordbeat)
  http://www.rhino.com/
  
• -- "Huckleberry Duck"/Raymond Scott
  from the CD, "The Music of Raymond Scott -- Reckless
  Nights and Turkish Twilights"
  http://raymondscott.com/
  
• --------------------------------------------------------------
  -- Music used in Joe Bob Briggs mix:
  -- "Wreck My Car" (excerpt from "Fingertips") /They
  Might Be Giants
  from the CD, "Apollo 18" (Elektra)
  http://www.tmbg.com/
  -- "Crawling From The Wreckage"/Dave Edmunds
  from the CD, "Repeat When Necessary" (Swan Song)
  -- "Theme from Shaft"/Isaac Hayes
  from the CD, "Shaft: Music from the Soundtrack" (Stax)
  http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  
• -- "Pick Up The Pieces"/AWB
  from the CD, "Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 3: The '70s"
  (Rhino)
  http://www.rhino.com/
• -- "Herrmann"/Arling & Cameron
  from the CD, "Music for Imaginary Films" (Emperor Norton
  Records)
  http://www.emperornorton.com/mod/
  http://www.xs4all.nl/~drive/

Distribution dates:

week of 08/12/2007 - hour 2 week of 02/26/2006 - hour 2

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