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Wisconsin Public Radio

JUST WAR?

Program 06-10-29-A

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On February 13th, 1945 Kurt Vonnegut and other American POWs were hiding in a cellar during the firebombing of Dresden. They were remarkably lucky, as 135,000 people died that night. During the bombing one soldier said, "I wonder what the poor people are doing tonight?" Nobody laughed but, as Vonnegut tells the story, everyone was grateful he said it. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk with Kurt Vonnegut about humor for desperate times.

SEGMENT 1:

James Yee is a West Point Graduate and a Muslim. He was the Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay prison until he was falsely accused of treason and imprisoned without trial. He tells his story to Anne Strainchamps and in a book called "For God and Country." Also, Scott Turow has made a career writing hugely successful legal thrillers. He tels Jim Fleming about his book "Ordinary Heroes," which tells the story of a WWII veteran much like Turow's father.

SEGMENT 2:

Marc Rothemund directed a documentary nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It's about Sophie Scholl, who was arrested with her brother for distributing anti-war pamphlets in Germany after the defeat at Stalingrad during WWII. They were both executed and are now folk heroes among German young people. Rothemund tells Steve Paulson about his research for the film and says the generation that took part in the events of the War still won't talk about those years, but their grandchildren want to know what happened.

SEGMENT 3:

British philosopher A.C. Grayling is the author of "Among Dead Cities." He talks with Jim Fleming about the western Allies' use of carpet bombing against civilian populations in both the European and Pacific theaters during WWII. Also, Kurt Vonnegut calls his most recent book, "A Man Without A Country." Steve Paulson spoke with him just after his 83rd birthday, and Vonnegut recalled his experiences during the fire-bombing of Dresden and explains why it took so many years for those experiences to become the novel "Slaughterhouse Five."

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 06-10-22-A.

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Books:

A.C. Grayling, Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany & Japan (Walker)
Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country (Seven Stories)
Scott Turow, Ordinary Heroes (FSG)
James Yee, For God and Country (Public Affairs)

Music:

• After Yee:
  Anouar Brahem w/ “De tout ton coeur”
  On “Le pas de chat noir”
  ECM Records
• After Turow:
  Miles Davis w/ “L’Assassinat de Carala”
  On “Ascenseur pour l’echafaud”
  Polygram Jazz
• After Grayling:
  Janos Starker w/ Bach’s “Suite No. 5 in C Minor
  On “Bach, Suites for Solo Cello”
  Mercury
• After Vonnegut:
  Anour Brahem w/ “Toi qui sait”
  On “Le pas de chat noir”
  ECM Records
  

Distribution dates:

week of 10/29/2006 - hour 1

Listen!

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

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