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HARRY SHEARER‘s new documentary  “The Big Uneasy” tells the story of the flooding of New Orleans that resulted NOT from a “natural disaster” but rather from failures of the levees — the film opens in LA on Friday at the Sunset 5  for a one-week run. WATCH the trailer to “The Big Uneasy” HERE.

Plus: The epic story of black migration out of the South –Pulitzer-prize winning journalist ISABEL WILKERSON tells that story in The Warmth of Other Suns. She will be speaking at the LA Public Library ALOUD series, 5^th and  Flower streets downtown, Wed. nite at 7:00 pm — reservations free but recommended: HERE.

Also: The end of the American university? ELLEN SHRECKER talks about the assault on academic freedom and the take-over of higher education by corporate money and priorities.  Ellen is professor of history at Yeshiva University and has written extensively on the Cold War red scare; her new book is The Lost Soul of Higher Education. Joan Scott calls it “at once a grim forecast and a rally cry.”

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In the Delaware Senate primary yesterday, Tea Party Republicans “ditched a seemingly certain November winner for a likely loser”–and thereby lost whatever chance the GOP had to take over the Senate.  JOHN NICHOLS will explain – he’s Washington Correspondent for The Nation, and he writes “The Beat” blog at TheNation.com.

Plus: Fifties TV was not just sitcoms selling soap and toothpaste – powerful groups and corporations sought to use the new medium to influence the masses.  ANNA McCARTHY tells that story – she’s co-editor of the journal Social Text, she teaches in the department of Cinema Studies and NYU, and her new book is The Citizen Machine: Governing by Television in 1950s America.

Also: Women won the right to vote 90 years ago – it’s hard now to realize how strongly men fought to keep them out of the polling booth.  CHRISTINE STANSELL reminds us what happened, and what the consequences were – she is a Distinguished Professor of History at the U. of Chicago, she’s written for the New York Times op-ed page and The New Republic;  she’s written many books, most recently The Feminist Promise, 1792 to the Present.

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HAROLD MEYERSON says American workers face a “God-awful” future — “Millions have lost their jobs. Millions have had their lives put on hold or thrown into reverse.”   It’s time for a massive public works program — but is Obama’s big enough?  Harold is a columnist for the L.A. Times and the Washington Post and editor-at-large of The American Prospect.

Plus: AMY WILENTZ reports on her return to Haiti last month — as the country prepares for an election, to be held ten months after the earthquake.   Amy wrote about her trip for The New Yorker: “Running in the Ruins.” Her book The Rainy Season: Haiti Then and Now, is out now in a new paperback edition.

Also: KATHA POLLITT has just returned from a year in Berlin; she says “IT’S BETTER OVER THERE.” Germany doesn’t have the kind of destitution we take for granted in the United States, especially for African-Americans. The strong German safety net keeps people from plunging into the abyss.  Katha is a poet, essayist and columnist for The Nation; she has been named the recipient of the American Book Award’s prestigious “Lifetime Achievement” prize for 2010.

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New Orleans now, five years after Katrina: we’ll speak with poet, novelist and essayist  ANDREI CODRESCU about what has changed there, and what hasn’t.  Andrei edits Exquisite Corpse: A Journal of Letters and Life; he wrote the memorable New Orleans Mon Amour;  his new book is The Poetry Lesson.

Also we’ll speak with historian MICHAEL BELLESILES about the violent and ugly America of 1877.  His new book is 1877: America’s Year of Living Violently. Michael teaches history at Central Connecticut State University.

Also: China just passed Japan as the number two economic power in the world – and yet China is still ruled by a Communist Party. Historian JEFF WASSERSTROM will explain some of the paradoxes here – Jeff writes for Foreign Policy the Christian Science Monitor, and the Huffington Post, and is chair of the history department at UC Irvine. He is co-founder of the blog ChinaBeat.org, and his new book is CHINA IN THE 21^ST CENTURY: WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW.

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Primaries in Florida and Arizona Tuesday tested the Tea Party’s strength among Republicans and the power of a billionaire to win a Senate Democratic nomination.  JOHN NICHOLS reviews the results – his new post at TheNation.com is “Sex, Drugs and Bill Clinton.”

Also: the “Ground Zero Mosque” in lower Manhattan — should it find another site, out of “respect for the 9-11 families,” and the ADL argues?  STEPHEN ROHDE explains why “It is wise, it is right, it is good for that mosque and community center to be built in that place.”  Stephen is co-president of Progressive Jewish Alliance and chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace.

Plus: “Mad Men” is the best series on TV right now – NATASHA VARGAS-COOPER talks about sex, literature, politics, and of course advertising on the show – and how it portrays the “cultural matrix” of the early sixties.  The New Yorker called her MAD MEN UNBUTTONED “the richest of the “Mad Men” books.”

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From the Pentagon Papers to WikiLeaks: DANIEL ELLSBERG talks about secrets, lies, and war — from Vietnam to Afghanstan.  We will be featuring the documentary about Daniel Ellsberg, “The Most Dangerous Man in America”, on DVD as our fund drive thank-you gift this hour.  The film was nominated for the Oscar for best documentary.  The Washington Post called it “an exemplary piece of nonfiction filmmaking,”  “a wily caper flick that just happens to revolve around one of the most crucial chapters in recent American history.”

Also:  TOM FRANK just finished a two-year term as the voice of left wing sanity at the crazed op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal – he was there in 2008 when “the market god collapsed” — And he was there when it was revived.  Tom’s books include What’s the Matter with Kansas? and The Wrecking Crew.  He starts a new column for Harper’s in December.

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Obama doesn’t have a jobs program.  California doesn’t have a jobs program.  But the city of L.A. DOES have a jobs program – the only one in the country.
HAROLD MEYERSON will explain – he’s an op-ed columnist for the L.A. Times and the Washington Post.

Plus: “METHLAND”: small town America has been crushed by union busting and agribusiness – and now an incredibly cheap, long-lasting, and highly effective drug has taken hold: NICK REDING tells the story of one town’s struggle with crystal meth.  His award-winning book Methland is out now in paperback.

Also: Obama abandoned his environmental and energy programs. But cities have taken the initiative towards green energy and green jobs — and L.A. is in the lead, on some fronts at least. 
JOAN FITZGERALD will explain. She’s Director of the Law, Policy and Society Program at Northeastern University, and her new book is Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development.

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Seven little words from MICHAEL POLLAN:  “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” His number one-bestseller, out now in paperback, is IN DEFENSE OF FOOD. Michael is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley.  (originally broadcast 2/13/2008.)

Also: HENRY FORD’s Amazon colony — historian GREG GRANDIN tells the story of Ford’s biggest failure.  His book Fordlandia is out now in paperback.  (originally broadcast 9/2/2008)

Plus: Politics and modern music: Hitler and Stalin went to the opera, and Joe McCarthy subpoenaed composers. What was going on?  ALEX ROSS explains — he’s music critic for The New Yorker, where’s he’s written not only about classical music but also about Bjork, Bob Dylan and Radiohead.  His award-winning book, out now in paperback, is THE REST IS NOISE: Listening to the 20th Century, and his famous website is www.TheRestIsNoise.com. (originally broadcast 5/14/2008)

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TERRY GROSS of NPR’s show “Fresh Air” is heard by more than 4 million listeners — in our interview she talks about what went wrong in her interviews with Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, and Bill O’Reilly. Also, she answers the question, “What is the deal with rumors that you are a lesbian?” Her book, All I Did was Ask: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, is out  in paperback.  (originally broadcast 11/04)

Also –from the Center for the Study of the Lower East Side, our interview with the great RICHARD PRICE about his novel — out now in paperback — LUSH LIFE. (originally broadcast 3/09)

Plus: FRIEDRICH ENGELS – “a foxhunting man, a womanizing, champagne-drinking capitalist” – and a lifelong revolutionary. Also, “far more adventurous than Marx when it came to exploring the ramifications of his and Marx’s thinking.” TRISTRAM HUNT explains.  MARX’S GENERAL: THE REVOLUTIONARY LIFE OF FRIEDRICH ENGELS is his book, out now in paperback.  (originally broadcast 9/09)