Enoch Pratt Free Library Podcast

Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews with Negro Leaguers, Major Leaguers, family and friends. Larry Tye has tracked down the truth about Satchel Paige, the majestic and enigmatic pitcher. Through Paige's hardscrabble years in Jim Crow Alabama to his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the powerhouses of the Negro Leagues, Tye dissects his mastery of pitching, his accuracy, power and velocity, and his signature pitch, the sizzler. He reveals how Paige, hurt and angry when Jackie Robinson beat him to the Majors, emerged at the age of 42 to help propel the Cleveland Indians to the World Series.

Larry Tye was a prize-winning journalist at The Boston Globe and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. An avid baseball fan, he now runs a Boston-based training progrm for medical journalists. He is th author of The Father of Spin, Home Lands, and Rising from the Rails.

Recorded On: Sunday, October 30, 2011

A growing number of black activists and artists claim that rap and hip-hop are the basis of an influential new urban social movement. Simultaneously, black citizens express concern with the effect that rap and hip-hop culture exerts on African American communities. According to a recent Pew survey, 71% of blacks think that rap is a bad influence.

In his new book, Stare in the Darkness, Lester Spence finds that rap does in fact influence black political attitudes. However, rap also reproduces rather than critiques neoliberal ideology. Black activists seeking to create an innovative model of hip-hop politics are hamstrung by their reliance on outmoded forms of organizing. In a clear and practical manner, Stare in the Darkness reveals the political consequences of rap culture for black politics.

Lester K. Spence is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University. His work has been published in both academic journals and the popular press, and he appears regularly on NPR. In 2009, he received Johns Hopkins' prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award.

Recorded On: Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Grant Wood: A Life tells the often heartbreaking story of the man who became "America's Painter." From the moment his now-iconic American Gothic caught the nation's attention in 1930, Grant Wood and his work have served as a blank canvas for American audiences, who see what they will in his dreamy landscapes, quirky history paintings, and forbidding portraits.The first biography of the artist to appear in almost 70 years, and the only one to explore Wood's closeted sexuality, Evans' book draws upon extensive research and important archival discoveries.

Since 1997, Tripp Evans has been an assistant professor of art and art history at Wheaton College. He is the author of Romancing the Maya: Mexican Antiquity in the American Imagination, 1820-1915. His biography of Grant Wood won the 2010 Marfield Prize, National Award for Arts Writing.

Recorded On: Sunday, October 23, 2011

Jesse Billauer was surfing at Zuma Beach in Californis in 1996 and was pushed headfirst into a shallow sandbar, leaving him a quadriplegic. Jesse left the hospital knowing two things: he had to surf again; and he had to help others be inspired to follow their passions. As founder and ambassador of the Life Rolls On Foundation, Jesse brings people together and changes lives one day, one program, and one person at a time.

Jesse Billauer is a professional surfer and Nike athlete. Featured in the surf epic, Step Into Liquid, Jesse's life has also been made into a feature film, Jesse's Story.

Recorded On: Thursday, October 20, 2011

With black males graduating at a declining rate -- only 50% will graduate from high school according to the Open Society Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement -- educators, parents and families must make a commitment to reverse this trend. 

Dr. Ivory A. Toldson, associate professor at Howard University,and Dr. Raymond Winbush, director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State University, will talk about what educators, parents and families can do to ensure that these young men succeed. Shawn Dove, campaign manager for the Open Socity Foundation's Campaign for Black Male Achievement, will serve as moderator.

Dr. Toldson serves as senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education, the country's oldest black continuous academic publication. He is the author of the "Breaking Barriers" series which analyzes academic success indicators from national surveys that together give voice to nearly 10,000 black male pupils from schools across the country.

Dr. Winbush is the author of The Warrior Method: A Program for Rearing Healthy Black Boys. He has lectured around the world on the challenges faced by African men and the struggle for reparations.

Recorded On: Thursday, October 20, 2011

As she approached her 70th year, Dorothy Bailey decided to find women born in or before 1940, listen to their stories, and use their wisdom as a guide to the silver years of her life. In a Different Light illuminates a moment in the lives of 90 beautiful, well-lived women, all of whom live in Maryland or have strong ties to the state. "Their stories inspire us, make us laugh, make us think, and impart a special joy to our lives," says Bailey.

Dorothy Bailey has been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the area's most powerful women. As an elected official, she represented the citizens of Prince George's County on the County Council for eight years. She is a graduate of North Carolina Central University and has done postgraduate work at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland.

Recorded On: Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is indisputably one of the "great American novels," yet its length and esoteric subject matter often keep readers at bay. With his trademark enthusiasm, Nathaniel Philbrick skillfully navigates Melville's world and illuminates the book's humor and unforgettable characters, finding the thread that binds Ishmael and Ahab to our own time, and to all times.

A great guide for those who've thought about reading Moby-Dick but never have, or for those who can read it multiple times and find something new with each reading, Why Read Moby-Dick? will start conversations, inspire arguments, and bring new readers to a classic tale.

Nathaniel Philbrick is the author of numerous bestsellers about American history, including In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award, and Mayflower, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is the founding director of the Egan Maritime Institute on Nantucket Island and a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association.

www.nathanielphilbrick.com

Recorded On: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Recorded On: Monday, October 17, 2011

1861: The Civil War Awakening chronicles courage and heroism beyond the battlefields and introduces us to a heretofore little-known cast of Civil War heroes. Adam Goodheart takes us from the corridors of the White House to the slums of Manhattan, from the mouth of the Chesapeake to the Nevada deserts, from Boston Commons to Alcatraz Island, vividly evoking the Union at this moment of ultimate crisis and decision.

Adam Goodheart is a historian, essayist, and journalist. He is a regular columnist for the New York Times'  acclaimed Civil War series, "Disunion." He serves as director of the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College.

Recorded On: Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Johns Hopkins Center to Reduce Cancer Disparities hosts a symposium, including a panel discussion featuring Augustus A. White, III, M.D. and leaders from Johns Hopkins Disparities Centers. The panel discussion is the beginning of an ongoing dialogue between community members and academic faculty on how to improve cultural competence in health care and eliminate health disparities.

Dr. Augustus A. White, III, is the author of Seeing Patients: Unconscious Bias in Health Care. He is Professor of Medical Education and Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the first African American department chief at Harvard's teaching hospitals.

Recorded On: Monday, October 3, 2011