TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE


PROMO       6/1/2008          "Nature Stories"
*Hummingbirds hum and whales sing in this hour of To the Best of Our
Knowledge.  Join us for a summertime special filled with the sounds of
the wild.  Grab your butterfly net and your binoculars and we'll help
you see the world around you in a whole new way.


PROGRAM RUNDOWN:  "Nature Stories" ***Please note that Anne Strainchamps
is filling in as host for the vacationing Jim Fleming.***


0:01 - 20:20        SEGMENT 1: (20:21)
            David Rothenberg is a philosopher and musician who enjoys
            playing his clarinet with animals.  His new book is
            "Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound" which
            talks about the duets he played with whales: humpbacks,
            belugas and orcas.  He talks with Steve Paulson about how
            and why he did what he did, and we hear lots of his
            (their) music.  Also, Jennifer Angus is an artist who
            finds insects so beautiful she uses them in her work. 
            Anne Strainchamps visits with her in her studio. Pictures
            of her work are on our website at ttbook.org.   
            
                    
            Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

20:21 - 20:50  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

20:51 - 40:07       SEGMENT 2: (19:17)
            Essayist Anne Fadiman reads from and talks with Steve
            Paulson about her essay "Collecting Nature."  It comes
            from her latest collection, "At Large and at Small" and
            talks about the delight she and her brother took as
            children with collecting (and killing) butterflies. Also,
            David Gessner is a nature writer who's sick of nature and
            most nature writing.  In his essay "My Green Manifesto"
            and in this conversation with Steve Paulson, Gessner
            makes the case for wilder, messier, more eccentric
            writing. Gesner's books include "Sick of Nature" and
            "Soaring with Fidel." He's the editor of Ecotone, an
            environmental literary magazine.   
                    
            Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

40:08 - 40:37       LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

40:38 - 53:00       SEGMENT 3: (12:22)
            Christopher Benfey is the author of "A Summer of
            Hummingbirds."  He tells Anne Strainchamps why there was
            a hummingbird craze in 19th century Massachsetts, how
            artists and poets used them as symbols, and why they seem
            like winged jewels.  Benfey teaches English at Mount
            Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
                    
            Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
6-1-A.