FRESH AIR
The band R.E.M. recently released Accelerate, its first album in four years. Critics have been describing the disc as a “comeback,” saying it’s the band’s best album in ages and that the group is playing with “the urgency and insurgency they did in their early years.” Among the album’s tracks: “Houston,” which details the narrator’s crisis of faith after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the government’s unfocused response, and “Living Well Is the Best Revenge,” which R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has described as a reaction to modern media culture. R.E.M. came together in Athens, Ga., in 1980, releasing its first single, “Radio Free Europe,” the following year. It was initially an underground sensation, but within a decade its albums were entering the pop charts at No. 1; 1991’s Out of Time, anchored by the smash-hit single “Losing My Religion,” sold more than 4 million copies. Accelerate is the band’s 14th album. Stipe and bandmates Peter Buck and Mike Mills join Terry Gross to talk about the new album and the band’s 28-year history. Hear R.E.M. in Concert At SXSW
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
Reaction to this week’s Iraq War progress update. Calling the Iraq War improved but fragile, General David
Petraeus says he wants to halt any further troop reductions. We’ll get reaction and analysis from TRUDY RUBIN, the Foreign Affairs Columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and HY ROTHSTEIN a former Special Forces officer who is now teaching at the Center on Terrorism & Irregular Warfare within the Naval Postgraduate School. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
Guest host Tracey Matisak talks with physicians STANLEY GOLDFARB of the University of Pennsylvania and RACHEL VREEMAN of Indiana University School of Medicine about common medical misperceptions. Goldfarb recently published a scientific review exploring recommendations that urge drinking eight glasses of water each day. Vreeman’s article in the British Medical Journal explored a series of common health myths. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change
Three stories that consider the question: does anyone’s family ever change? A woman travels to Alaska to spend some time with her brother, hoping he might change a little. What can happen when a sibling relationship doesn’t ever change — over decades. And what if there’s literally nothing that can be done to change your dad? More…