PROGRAM: TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE

Sunday    30 May 2010         1000 - 1359 (ET)

PRODUCER: Steve Paulson, Wisconsin Public Radio, 608-263-5412

"Saying the World"
*A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but you still need
a word to describe that glorious smell.  Coming up next on To the
Best of Our Knowledge, Saying the World. We'll try out new words
from the online world with a New York Times language blogger -
words like YakkaWow and suicide cuisine.  Also, the rise of a new
world language called Globish. 
PROGRAM RUNDOWN:"Saying the World"

0:00 - 14:18   SEGMENT 1: (14:19)
     As the world gets smaller, cultural collisions are all
     around us, including the language that surrounds us.  We're
     constantly searching for new and better ways to communicate. 
     Blogger Ben Schott's job for the New York Times is to troll
     the internet for new and noteworthy words.  He tells Steve
     Paulson these words tell us volumes about the times we live
in.  
     
     Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

14:19 - 14:48  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

14:49 - 40:03  SEGMENT 2: (25:15)
     When most of us are having trouble find the right words to
     make sense of the world, we turn to writers.  They usually
     let their books do the talking, but occasionally we get to
     hear it straight from the authors themselves.  Richard
     Fairmont recently produced a set of CDs for the BBC that
     include rare recordings of the prominent writers.  They're
     called "The Spoken Word: British Writers" and "The Spoken
     Word: American Writers." Fairmont tells Steve Paulson all
     about it.  Also, the search for a common tongue has moved us
     in many directions.  To the surprise of many, English has
     filled in the gaps, or at least a version of English. 
     Robert McCrum is the author of "Globish: How the English
     Language Became the World's Language."  He tells Jim Fleming
     how English became Globish.
          
     Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio International."

40:04 - 40:33  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

40:34 - 53:00  SEGMENT 3: (12:26)
     In such a complex world, sometimes simple is best, and what
     could be simpler than a bumper sticker?  Menlo School
     philosophy teacher Jack Bowen isn't fooled, however.  In in
     book "If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper
     Stickers," he points out that restricting yourself to eight
     or nine words can be far more complex than you would expect. 
     He tells Anne Strainchamps how he got interested in bumper
     stickers.
  
          
     Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


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