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GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

Program 07-05-13-A

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When asked what he thought about Western civilization, Gandhi once famously said: I think it's a good idea. Gandhi's form of extreme nonviolence led to the civilized retreat of the British from the Indian sub-continent. But does non-violence still have the right stuff to effect social change in today's world? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, some new ideas about a very old subject - non-violence. And, could nonviolence have prevented World War II?

SEGMENT 1:

Satish Kumar is a peace activist who lives in Devon, England, and he's the author of "The Buddha and the Terrorist." A former Jain monk, he still follows Gandhi's principles of non-violence. Kumar tells Jim Fleming about some of the people he met on his 8,000 mile walk for peace, and why he thinks violence is an obsolete weapon. Also, Reihan Salam critiqued the movie "Gandhi" for Slate Magazine in an article called "Meet the Hindustani Malcolm X." Salam tells Steve Paulson that David Attenborough's bio-pic may have been about an Indian man, but it was a thoroughly Western movie.

SEGMENT 2:

Mark Kurlansky is the author of "Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons in the History of a Dangerous Idea." In constructing his history of non-violence, Kurlansky looks at history with a revisionist's eye and tells Steve Paulson that WWII might not have been necessary and that Black people

SEGMENT 3:

Andrew Carroll is the Founder of the Legacy Project whose latest book is "Grace under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War." The Legacy Project collects and publishes letters from combatants and their families and friends, and others who have been touched by the experience of war.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 07-05-13-A.

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Books:

Mark Kurlansky, Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern Library)
Andrew Carroll, ed., Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War (Doubleday)
Satish Kumar, The Buddha and the Terrorist (Algonquin)

Websites:

• for Andrew Carrol & The Legacy Projectl:
  www.warletters.com

Music:

• -Pundela/ Musafir, from Dhola Maru/ Sounds True
  
• -Raga Kaushik ranjani (Beauty in Simplicity)/ Usman Khan from Journey in a Dream/New Earth Records
  
• -Suite II in D Minor, BWV 1008/ Matt Haimovitz from 6 Suites for Cello Solo/ Oxingale Records
  
• -Give Peace a Chance/ John Lennon/ EMI-Odeon
  

Distribution dates: week of 05/13/2007 - hour 1

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

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