A Five Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

HILLARY, BARACK & THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM

Program 08-02-03-A

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Hillary Clinton once described herself as a "Rorschach test." People see in her what they want, whether they love her or hate her. In this hour of To the Best Of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the complicated feelings many women have about Hillary, her marriage to Bill, and whether it's possible to evaluate her run for president without thinking about the fact that she's female.

SEGMENT 1:

Psychologist Drew Weston is the author of "The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation." He tells Jim Fleming that Democrats need to learn to sell their core issues by speaking in emotionally effective language, as the Republicans have since the days of Ronald Reagan. Also, Paul Krugman is one of the most prominent liberal pundits in America. He talks with Steve Paulson about his latest book, "The Conscience of A Liberal."

SEGMENT 2:

There's a new book called "Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary" which is comprised of essays by women novelists, essayists and critics on the subject of how the writers respond to Hilary Clinton as a cultural symbol and public personality. Anne Strainchamps talks with three of them: Susan Morrison, Daphne Merkin and Lorrie Moore; and we also hear clips from Hillary on the stump.

SEGMENT 3:

Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy has written another incendiary book. The author of "Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word" has now written "Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal." Kennedy tells Steve Paulson why Clarence Thomas is the most disliked prominent Black man in America, but may not deserve the term "sellout." And Barack Obama talks with Steve Paulson about his self-image and success.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 08-02-03-A.

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Books:

Randall Kennedy, Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal (Pantheon)
Paul Krugman, The Conscience of a Liberal (Norton)
Susan Morrison, ed, Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary : Reflections by Women Writers, up Close and Personal (Harper Collins)
Drew Westen, The Political Brain (Perseus)

Music:

• After Westen:
  Joshua Redman Quartet w/ “Chill”
  On “Moodswing”
  Warner Bros. Records
• After Krugman:
  Phil Ochs w/ “Love Me, I’m a Liberal”
• After Morrison/Merkin/Moore:
  Quartet San Francisco w/ “Tanguori”
  on “Whirled Chamber Music”
  Violin Jazz Recordings
• After Kennedy:
  Quartet San Francisco w/ “Bei Mir Bist du Schoen”
• After Obama:
  Quartet San Francisco w/ “Harlem Nocturne”

Distribution dates: week of 02/03/2008 - hour 1

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

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