Radio Times

Guests: David Bromberg

In this hour of Radio Times, Marty sits down with Wilmington, Delaware musician DAVID BROMBERG.  He’s just released his newest and 18th album, The Blues, the Whole Blues, and Nothing But the Blues.  It’s a return to form for the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, who has traversed many different genres since his blues education as a young man.  Bromberg has also collaborated with such musicians as Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Carly Simon, The Eagles, and Willie Nelson.  He joins Marty to talk about his life, his new album, and the blues.

Guests: Patti Niemi, Christopher Deviney, Phyllis Korkki, Gino Segrè, Bettina Hoerlin

Coming up on today’s show we’ll hear three stories about perseverance. First, we’ll hear Marty’s conversation with percussionists PATTI NIEMI and CHRISTOPHER DEVINEY.  Niemi wrote about how practice and patience led to her becoming a percussionist in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in her book Sticking it Out.  We’ll also hear Marty’s discussion with New York Times writer PHYLLIS KORKKI.  Her book, The Big Thing discusses the challenges of overcoming procrastination.  Lastly, we’ll talk about Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, a key architect of the atomic age who built the first nuclear reactor and was the leader of the Manhattan Project.  He had to flee fascist Italy in order to continue his research which would eventually reshape the world. We were joined by GINO SEGRÈ and BETTINA HOERLIN, co-authors of The Pope of Physics.

Guests: Ambassador Dennis Ross and Ilan Goldenberg

In a highly anticipated speech yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Obama administration’s commitment to a two-state solution, saying it was the only way to guarantee democracy in Israel. He responded to claims that the U.S. orchestrated the passage of a U.N Security Resolution condemning settlements and made the case that we continue to be Israel’s closest ally. This morning on Radio Times, we’ll talk about Mr. Kerry’s speech and the strains in U.S.- Israel relations with Ambassador DENNIS ROSS of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and ILAN GOLDENBERG of the Center for a New American Security.

Guests: Tom Moon, Lior Phillips

We’re talking about the music of 2016 this hour.  We’ll talk about the veterans who continue to astound us, the new artists who wowed us, and some of the year’s biggest trends.  Joining us is NPR music reviewer TOM MOON and LIOR PHILLIPS who writes for Consequence of Sound and other publications, to get their picks of the best, albums, artists, and songs from the past year.

Guests: George Ciccariello-Maher, Matt Lamb and Jonathan Zimmerman

With his Christmas eve tweet – “all I want for Christmas is white genocide” -- Drexel professor GEORGE CICCARIELLO-MAHER has created a social media firestorm. Ciccariello-Maher says the tweet was intended to be a satirical response to white supremacy, but it was quickly condemned by conservative critics to be racist and hateful. In an official statement, Drexel University called the professor’s comments to be “utterly reprehensible.” In the intervening days, Ciccariello-Maher’s name has appeared on Professor Watchlist, a project of Turning Point USA which aggregates information about faculty members who allegedly “discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.” The incident has raised serious questions about freedom of speech, political correctness and the use of social media on college campuses. We’ll start off the hour talking to Drexel professor George Ciccariello-Maher. Then we’ll get responses from MATT LAMB, Director of Constitutional Enforcement and Transparency for Turning Point USA and University of Pennsylvania history of education professor JONATHAN ZIMMERMAN.

Guests: Sonia Saraiya, Steven Hyden

We continue our “Best of 2016” series by talking about the year-in-television.  In the era of so-called “peak-TV” it can be hard to wade through the deluge of shows, but today, our guests will tell us about the series that stood out this year.  We’ll be joined by SONIA SARAIYA of Variety and by culture critic STEVEN HYDEN of Uproxx.

Guests: Andrew Revkin, Lisa Friedman

President Obama recently banned new offshore oil and gas drilling in parts of Arctic and Atlantic using his executive authority.  The White House says this protection is permanent but others argue that it could be overturned.  With only weeks left in his final term, Obama is trying to solidify his environmental legacy before Donald Trump enters office.  Trump has promised to dismantle many of Obama’s environmental protections and regulations.  This hour, we look at what the ban on drilling will mean for the environment, for industry, and the economy.  We’ll also talk about President Obama’s environmental accomplishments and the threat that Trump poses to them.  Marty's guests are ANDREW REVKIN, senior reporter covering the environment at ProPublica, and LISA FRIEDMAN, editor of Climatewire.

Guests: Neil Oxman and Carrie Rickey

From the coming-of-age film Moonlight, to the painful story of loss portrayed in Manchester by the Sea, the movies of 2016 included some amazing performances by rookie and veteran actors. In addition to dramas, there were also lighter films like the delightful musical La La Land. In this hour, we begin our look back at the year-in-entertainment when we talk about the best movies of 2016 with film aficionado NEIL OXMAN and CARRIE RICKEY, movie critic for the website Truthdig.

Guests: Edward Sorel & Jules Feiffer 

Marty talks with illustrator, caricaturist and cartoonist EDWARD SOREL and his new book "Mary Astor's Purple Diary.” This work took 40 years to finish about a scandalous Oscar-winning actress. Sorel has illustrated 41 covers for The New Yorker and has published pictorial essays and features in The Nation, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among a score of other publications. Sorel is the recipient of the George Polk Award for Satiric Drawing and the Best in Illustration Award from the National Cartoonists Society. Joining in the conversation is JULES FEIFFER on his new book "Cousin Joseph," Feiffer’s prequel to the New York Times bestselling Depression-era noir graphic novel Kill My Mother. Feiffer won a Pulitzer Prize for the comic strip he published for 42 years in the Village Voice, an Academy Award for Best Animated Short, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Writers Guild of America, and he is an inductee to the Comic Book Hall of Fame. Both Sorel and Feiffer will be at the Free Library of Philadelphia tonight.

Guest: Dev Patel

The new film Lion is based on the heart-wrenching true story of a young Indian boy, Saroo Brierley, who was separated from his family in the streets of Calcutta and ends up a thousand miles from his home. Brierley was eventually adopted by an Australian family and years later he returned to India to try to find his family.  British actor DEV PATEL plays Saroo in the new movie. Patel made his feature film debut starring in Slumdog Millionaire and since then has appeared in a number of films including The Man Who Knew Infinity, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Chappie, as well as the television series “Skins” and “The Newsroom.”  He comes in to the studio this hour to talk to Marty about his acting career and his new film.