Roundup

A Wizard Tale [25min]

A Wizard Tale [25min] The dark hero of the children's TV series Shoebox Zoo, Michael Scot was Scotland's most famous literary wizard before Harry Potter. What is truth about him and what is legend? Historian Louise Yeoman finds out.

Intelligent Design Candidates Voted Out in Penn. [5min]

Voters in Dover, Penn., oust eight school-board members who support teaching intelligent design in science class. The victorious candidates opposed the policy. Christina Kauffman, reporter for The York Dispatch, talks about the sweep.

Looking Back at the 'Pioneers of Primetime' [4min]

Television critic Andrew Wallenstein reviews the new documentary Pioneers of Primetime, a film that looks back at the early days of American television and the icons who invented a new genre of entertainment.

Animation Pioneer to be Feted in Oval Office [4min]

"Day to Day" animation critic Charles Solomon has a tribute to legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston, who will receive the National Medal of Arts Thursday in the Oval Office ceremony to mark his contributions to the entertainment industry.

New Book Examines Life of Stepin Fetchit [17min]

Author Mel Watkins talks about his new book that chronicles the life of the first African American movie star, Lincoln Perry, a.k.a. Stepin Fetchit, and how he became an American pop culture icon. Guest: Mel Watkins, former editor and writer for The New York Times Sunday Book Review and author of Stepin Fetchit: The Life and Times of Lincoln Perry.

How Time Is Measured [4min]

American proposals to redefine how time is measured could force Greenwich Mean Time into irrelevance. According to the Observatory's Curator of Horology -- Jonathan Betts -- the meridian's role in providing the basis of time-keeping across the world is now under threat. The Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich in south-east London, became the basis for the world's time-keeping in 1884. The decision stemmed from the work 200 years previously of the first English Astronomer Royal, John Fla

New Kansas School Standards Question Evolution [4min]

The Kansas Board of Education again has adopted science standards that take aim at evolution. Supporters say it's about bringing academic integrity to the science classroom. Critics call it an attempt to inject religion into science education.

Richard Clarke's 'Scorpion's Gate': Fact or Fiction? [73min]

For three decades, Richard A. Clarke worked in the White House, State Department, and Pentagon. His specialties are cybersecurity, counterterrorism and homeland security. As a presidential adviser, he has traveled throughout the Middle East, visiting palaces, military bases and intelligence centers; and has met with rulers, soldiers, and spies. He has now used his experiences to pen The Scorpion’s Gate, a geopolitical novel of terrorism, warring nations, and political treachery. His book

Sue Prideaux on Edvard Munch, 2nd of 5 [15min]

Munch gains his first major recognition after an exhibition in Berlin sends the German traditionalists wild with fury. He begins work on his first major series of paintings that will culminate in The Scream. Sue Prideaux's Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream (Yale University Press) -- here abridged by dramatist Polly Coles and read by actor Louis Hillyer -- is the first full biography of Munch written in English.

Sue Prideaux on Edvard Munch, 3rd of 5 [15min]

Munch meets the heiress Tulla Larsen who is desperate to educate herself in art. So begins a relentless cat and mouse game in which Tulla turns from captivating lover to relentless stalker. Sue Prideaux's Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream (Yale University Press) -- here abridged by dramatist Polly Coles and read by actor Louis Hillyer -- is the first full biography of Munch written in English.

Michael Dobbs on Winston Churchill [17min]

Sandi Toksvig and guest co-host Bonnie Langford interview politician and author Michael Dobbs about his new book, Churchill's Triumph (Headline Book Publishing Ltd), the conclusion of his trilogy of Churchill novels.

Jimi Hendrix and the 'Room Full of Mirrors' [9min]

Thirty-nine years ago today, the Jimi Hendrix Experience played its first show as a headliner, at a club in Munich, Germany. Farai Chideya talks about the founding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience with Charles Cross, author of Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix.

Civil-Rights Activist, Ex-Klansman C.P. Ellis [4min]

Civil rights activist and former Ku Klux Klansman C.P. Ellis has died at age 78. Ann Atwater, a black civil rights activist, talks about her friend. Ellis had a change of heart after a 10-day forum on integration of schools in Durham, N.C. He renounced his Klan membership, became lifelong friends with Atwater and went on to organize black and white labor unions.

Sixty Years of Trying to Control the Bomb [48min]

Sixty years after President Harry Truman called for an end to the use of atomic weapons, arms control efforts continue. How did we get where we are today? Talk of the Nation examines the issue in a live broadcast before a studio audience at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. Guests: Ambassador Linton Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA), co-chairman an

Examining Nuclear Threats Past and Present [48min]

Over six decades, the world has struggled to develop atomic power and control nuclear weapons -- with mixed results on both counts. Neal Conan hosts a special broadcast on the history of the atomic age, live from the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. His guests are historian Richard Rhodes, nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, retired general Eugene Habiger, and former Secretary of State Robert McNamara.Richard Rhodes is an historian and author of 20 books; a Nationa

Lincoln by Goodwin: 'Political Genius' [20min]

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Goodwin, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her previous book, No Ordinary Time, recounts the life and work of our 16th president, as well as the work of the principal characters of his administration.

Mike Wallace, Interviewer: 'You and Me' [26min]

Mike Wallace has spent decades interviewing people who have helped shape today's world. In a new book, Between You and Me: A Memoir, written with Gary Paul Gates, the veteran newsman reminiscences on some of his favorite interviews, sharing behind-the-scenes details from encounters with politicians, celebrities and criminals. Wallace has been with the weekly CBS news magazine 60 Minutes since its inception in 1968. Working with producer Don Hewitt, Wallace became known for hard-hit

French Arab Radio Report [6min]

BEUR-FM is a national radio station serving French citizens and immigrants of African and Arab descent. Marco Werman speaks with Ahmed el Keiy, BEUR-FM's news director, to learn how the station is reporting on the unrest in France.

The Psychology of Europe's Muslim Rioters [3min]

Rioting that began in the largely Muslim suburbs of Paris has now spread to immigrant communities in other European cities. Alex Chadwick speaks to Hans-Hermann Nikolei, Paris correspondent for the Deutsche Presse Agentur news agency, about what motivates rioters.

Riots in France [53min]

French police have been unable to put an end to the nights of violence following the deaths of two teenagers twelve days ago. We'll talk about the ongoing unrest, the French government's response, and longer term implications with Nicolas de Boisgrollier, visiting fellow, Center on the United States and Europe at The Brookings Institution; Patrick Jarreau, deputy editor, Le Monde; and Bruce Stokes, National Journal international economics columnist and German Marshall Fund fellow.