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John Powers on Rachel Maddow: KPFK 3/13

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RACHEL MADDOW: JOHN POWERS considers the sunny and smart MSNBC host and her excellent book DRIFT: The Unmooring of American Military Power–it’s out now in paperback, and Rachel is speaking Thursday at 8pm for Vroman’s at the Wilshire Ebell.  John wrote about Rachel for The American Prospect; he’s critic-at-large for NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, heard by 4.5 million people on 450 stations. (originally broadcast 4/11/12)

Also:  JOHN NICHOLS of The Nation with our political update: the “new” Paul Ryan budget.  John of course blogs at TheNation.com, HERE.

Plus: CLAYBORNE CARSON’s first demonstration was the March on Washington–he was a 19-year-old working-class black kid from New Mexico who hitched a ride to Washington DC to hear Martin Luther King speak.  Decades later, Coretta Scott King selected Clay—now a history professor at Stanford University–to edit the papers of her late husband.  In his new memoir, Martin’s Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., traces his evolution from political activist to activist scholar.

“Dueling over Watergate”: LA Times 3/9

I do not think Watergate should be the only display at the Nixon Library. The problem is that it’s missing from the new exhibit in Yorba Linda.  I didn’t criticize the library or the National Archives for what is in the new show; I criticized them for what has been left out. 
Is it really necessary to explain why Watergate belongs in the story of Nixon’s life? . . . continued at the LA Times, HERE

“Another Watergate Gap”: LA Times 3/1

The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum opened a new exhibit in Yorba Linda and online Feb. 15, “Patriot, President, Peacemaker.” It covers Richard Nixon‘s entire life, like the permanent installation there, and claims to present “a fuller picture” than ever before.  But there’s a gap, reminiscent of the 18 1/2-minute gap in the famous White House tapes. . . . What’s missing is Watergate.
. . . continued at LA Times, HERE.

 

Gabby Giffords on Guns: KPFK 2/27

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Who better to mobilize a lobby for gun control than former congresswoman and shooting survivor Gabrielle Giffords?  JOHN POWERS talked with her at home in Tucson recently, two years after she was shot in the head in a Tucson parking lot by a deranged misfit—an attack that killed six—as she and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, announced the creation of Americans for Responsible Solutions.  John is critic at large for “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” film critic for Vogue, and writes about culture and politics for The American Prospect.  WATCH Gabby Giffords’s first TV ad HERE.

Plus: The rarely seen film “King: A Filmed Record” traces MLK’s struggle from Montgomery to Memphis. In a Black History Month special, we air excerpts of a rarely seen Oscar-nominated documentary.  It was made from original newsreel footage and other original video footage shot of marches, rallies and church services. “King” was originally screened for one night only in 1970 in more than 600 theaters across the United States, but has rarely been seen since.  It’s our featured premium this hour of the KPFK Fund Drive – please call and pledge 818-985-5735 during the show.

 

Oh Yoko! Ms. Ono at 80: The Nation 2/15

February 18 is Yoko Ono’s 80th birthday—it’s a day to celebrate her art, music and activism. She’s done more in the last year than most of us do in a decade: campaigned against fracking and honored Julian Assange; mounted a major retrospective of her art in London last summer at the prestigious Serpentine Gallery, and another, bigger one in Frankfurt last week. . .
. . . continued at TheNation.com HERE (or HERE )

The Pope and the Sexual Abuse of Children: KPFK 2/13

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The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church: That’s the subject of a documentary playing all this month on HBO – the filmmaker is ALEX GIBNEY—he won an Oscar for “Taxi to the Dark Side.”  This new documentary is “Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.”

Also: HAROLD MEYERSON talks about Obama’s State of the Union speech last night – and the Republican response.  Harold is editor-at-large of The American Prospect and a columnist for the Washington Post op-ed page.

And for black history month, UCLA historian ROBIN KELLEY will look at the life and music of Thelonious Monk.  Robin’s book Thelonious Monk, The Life and Times of an American Original, is out now in paperback.    PLAYLIST: “‘Round Midnight,”  “Well You Needn’t,” “Straight No Chaser,” “Sweet and Lovely” – 1947 Blue Note sessions.  (originally broadcast 10-21-09)

 

Management Advice from Honest Abe: The Nation 2/12

Lincoln $5 billThanks to Steven Spielberg and his film Lincoln, we’ve been hit by a new wave of management wisdom supposedly gleaned from the film’s central character.  Business Week ran a piece titled “Career Lessons from Spielberg’s Lincoln”; the New York Times called theirs “Lincoln’s School of Management.”. . .
. . . continued at TheNation.com, HERE