FRESH AIR
Avant-garde composer and cabaret singer Theo Bleckmann has been a mainstay on the New York music scene for 15 years. This summer, he will be touring the United States and Europe in support of his new album Berlin: Songs Of Love & War, Peace & Exile. The album is a tribute to Bleckmann’s native Germany and contains a collection of Bertolt Brecht songs, reimagined. Pianist Fumio Yasuda arranged the work, and Philip Glass’ muse Wendy Sutter plays the cello on the album. Bleckmann has collaborated with John Zorn, Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson and Anthony Braxton. He is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, where he specializes in jazz vocals. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
WIKIPEDIA: Bertolt Brecht (born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht February 10, 1898–August 14, 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the twentieth century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife and long-time collaborator, the actress Helene Weigel—with its internationally acclaimed productions.
ALSO, bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren returns to Fresh Air to talk about how and why credit-card debt is
becoming more costly due to increased fees and interest rates. Yesterday, Warren discussed credit reports and the importance of maintaining a high credit rating. Warren is a professor at Harvard Law School, where she specializes in bankruptcy and contract law. She has appeared before the Senate Banking Committee to discuss the abusive lending practices by credit card companies. Warren considers the interest charges and late fees imposed by credit card companies to be a hidden tax on cardholders. Warren has also written extensively on money management for middle-class families. She is the author of The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke and co-author of All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan, which she wrote with her daughter.
RADIO TIMES
In this heated campaign season, both the republican and democratic candidates have increasingly been called upon to define patriotism and explain their devotion to America. Our guests ERIC LIU and NICK HANAUER say that patriotism has been hijacked by the right and abandoned by the left. They’ve collaborated on a new The True Patriot, they offer a set of standards for what patriotism entails. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3
THIS AMERICAN LIFE
358: Social Engineering
Tim White used to be a gang leader in Chicago, but now he’s a “violence interrupter” for a program called CeaseFire. Host Ira Glass talks to Tim about his work, and why he thinks it can keep young gang members from killing each other. We learned about Tim from TAL contributor Alex Kotlowitz, who wrote about CeaseFire for The New York Times Magazine. (8 minutes)…Gregory Deloatch and Daniel Canada dreamed of being writers, but normal life—marriage, jobs, paying the rent—always got in the way. To pursue their dream, the two friends embarked on an unusual experiment. Lu Olkowski tells the story of how it turned out….Check out Hobo Bob’s and Obsidian’s blogs, and learn more about their event, The Shout Out. (28 minutes)…When Dave Dickerson was 12, he got a new bike, and his father decided to use the occasion to teach Dave a lesson. But the lesson Dave learned wasn’t the one his father intended. (9 minutes)…When Amy Silverman’s daughter was born with Down syndrome, she followed the advice of all the parents she met: she signed her daughter up for “early intervention” therapy. But her daughter’s progress had unexpected consequences, forcing Amy to make a choice she’d never predicted. (9 minutes)Governments are always looking for ways to change behavior—stopping people from driving drunk, or encouraging them to recycle. This week, we have stories of social engineering on a smaller scale. In one story, a man convinces his friend to try something new, turn his back on a good paying salary and an apartment…and become homeless. LISTEN
WORLD CAFE
Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Eli “Paperboy” Reed drops by the World Café with host David Dye. Reed and his band The True Loves, have released their second album, Roll With You. Just 23 years old, Reed honed his musical chops at age 18 playing the blues in the Mississippi delta. Along with their youthful, raw energy comes the talent of seasoned veterans as they play timeless gospel, soul, and rhythm and blues.
ELI ‘PAPERBOY’ REED: It’s Easier