Booksum604
TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE
from Wisconsin Public Radio
June 18, 1995 Programs
Click here to return to the Main Menu
1100 - 1159 Hour #1 Father's Day
1200 - 1259 Hour #2 Birth Control
1300 - 1359 Hour #3 Modern Dance
PROGRAM RUNDOWN Hour 1:Father's Day
SEGMENT 1:
The last year has seen debate about single mothers,
welfare moms, and mothers who do or don't deserve government
aid. Where is the talk about fathers? Social critic and
author of "Fatherless America" David Blankenhorn tells Jim
Fleming that the missing dad is our most pressing social
problem. Lawyer and labor expert Rhona Mahoney agrees that men
aren't doing their part, but as she argues in her own book
"Kidding Ourselves," women have to stop blaming men for the
problem. She tells Margaret Andreasen that if women want out
of the mommy track, it's up to them to change.
SEGMENT 2:
There's nothing like having children to teach you to
love your parents, and men are finally learning that's true for
fathers and sons. Commentator Andy Moore reflects on what his
father taught him about raising kids. And psychologist Sam Osherson tells Judith
Strasser that the relationship of fathers and sons deserves a
lot more attention than it's getting, but it's not too late to
start.
SEGMENT 3:
Poet Li-Young Lee has been called one of America's
finest young poets, and he's now published his first prose work
-- a memoir of his family's long and sometimes dangerous
journey from China to America. Lee tells Steve Paulson that
searching for memories of his father made him realize that
though the two of them were always close, in many ways they are
still strangers.
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
6-18-A.
PROGRAM RUNDOWN Hour 2:Birth Control
SEGMENT 1:
Chemist Carl Djerassi is often called the "father of
the Pill." In the years since he pioneering work, birth
control has become something of an obsession with him. He
tells Steve Paulson that he continues to hope that some new
form of contraception will replace the one he helped to
develop.
SEGMENT 2:
The Pill has become so much a part of modern life
that we forget it's only a few decades old. Bernard Asbell has
written a "biography" of the Pill, full of fascinating little
stories. He tells Jim Fleming, for instance, that the Vatica
was all set to approve the first oral contraceptive, until at
the last moment the Pope was persuaded not to.
SEGMENT 3:
Pregancy is seen by some women as a blessing, by
others as a curse, but as social historian Elaine Tyler May
tells Margaret Andreasen, it's always an obsession. Her book
"Barren in the Promised Land" even tells of cases where
individual fertility was policed by government.
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
6-18-B.
PROGRAM RUNDOWN: HOUR 3: Modern Dance
SEGMENT 1
As the American Dance Festival begins its
celebration of one-hundred years of modern dance, co-directors
Charles and Stephanie Reinhart talk with Judith Strasser about
the explosive internationalization of the art form. The
freedom inherent in modern dance is particularly attractive in
democraticizing countries, including China, and former members
of the Soviet bloc.
SEGMENT 2:
Jim Fleming asks dance historian Lynne Garafola
what it is that makes modern dance different from other dance
forms (like folk) where dancers don't where tutus and don't
stand on the ends of their toes. She offers an introduction to
this revolutionary art form-- and gives a few tips for watching
modern dance. Also, philosopher Gerald Myers tells Steve
Paulson why African-Americans have had a profound influence on
the history of American modern dance. Myers directs the
humanities programs at the American Dance Festival, including
projects that retrieve and recreate historic dances by black
choreographers.
SEGMENT 3:
Up-and-coming choreographer Ron Brown calls his
company "Evidence" because, he says, his dances provide proof
of the circumstances of his life. He talks with Margaret
Andreasen about creating dances out of his identity as a gay
black man.
For cassette copies of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
6-18-C.
Click here to return to the Main Menu
Last modified: February 9, 1998