FRESH AIR
In 1964, Democrat Lyndon Johnson won the presidency in a landslide victory; eight years later, Republican president Richard
Nixon was reelected in an equally lopsided race. In his new book, Nixonland, historian Rick Perlstein looks at the chaotic years between those elections, a time marked by protests, social upheaval, assassinations and an unpopular war. Perlstein is a senior fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, where he writes the blog The Big Con. He has written for The New Republic Online, Slate, the Village Voice, Newsday and The Nation. Richard Nixon: Speeches, Writings, Documents, a Nixoniana collection compiled by Perlstein, will be published in September 2008.
RADIO TIMES
Hour 1
How emotion affects how we vote. We’ll talk with DREW WESTEN author of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. He is a professor of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta. He is also a guest blogger for the Huffington Post, a commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered and the founder of Westen Strategies, a political and corporate consulting firm. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
Hour 2
Is now the best time to reassess Philadelphia home values? The plan has stalled as the agency charged with the assessments the Board of Revisions of Taxes is asking for local politicians to become more involved. We’ll debate whether it’s important for the assessments to happen with BRETT MANDEL executive director of Philadelphia Forward who is threatening to sue the City if it doesn’t move forward and ALAN BUTKOVITZ the Philadelphia City Controller who thinks re-assessing home values now would create economic upheaval and push some residents to leave the city. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THE WORLD CAFE
The guitarist for Death Cab For Cutie, Chris Walla produced the band’s new album, Narrow Stairs, and talks about that process in an interview with World Cafe host David Dye. Somewhat darker than its predecessors, Narrow Stairs infuses the band’s punchy, sentimental rock with additional atmosphere and experimentation. The eight-minute single “I Will Possess Your Heart” has quickly become a World Cafe favorite. Described as “louder and more dissonant” by Walla, Narrow Stairs showcases a new sound for the band. Having recently released his first solo album, Field Manual, Walla was interested in exploring the differences between a solo and group project. Narrow Stairs is the product of this exploration, with all but two of its songs recorded live.
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE: What Sarah Said