Radio Times

Guest: Michael Chabon

During his dying days, Pulitzer Prize-winning author MICHAEL CHABON’s grandfather shared stories from the past that Chabon had never heard before, offering bits and pieces of a history that was long buried and forgotten. Those revelations form the foundation of Chabon’s his new novel, Moonglow, based on the deathbed confession of a man the narrator refers to only as “my grandfather.” Chabon will join us to talk about the autobiographical novel, which travels from the Jewish slums of pre-war South Philadelphia to New York’s Wallkill prison, offering a tale of war, adventure and the destructive impact of keeping secrets and telling lies along the way.

Guests: Candice Millard and Ira Goldstein

Winston Churchill is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. Over 12,000 books have been written about him. But while many people are familiar with Churchill’s WWII experiences and leadership, few of us know about the young Churchill’s remarkable adventures in South Africa during the Second Boer War – his capture, imprisonment and remarkable escape. That’s the story that author CANDICE MILLARD tells in her new book, Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill. She talks with producer Debbie Bilder. Then, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican primary rival Ben Carson to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We’ll discuss the work HUD does with Reinvestment Fund’s IRA GOLDSTEIN. He worked at HUD under the first President Bush and President Clinton and now supervises research devoted to redevelopment in low-income neighborhoods across the country.

GUESTS: SENATOR JUDY SCHWANK, LEOLA HARDY, HEDY CHANG

Truancy is a chronic problem in the School District of Philadelphia, throughout Pennsylvania and across the nations’ school districts. In this hour, we look at Pennsylvania's newly enacted truancy legislation with SENATOR JUDY SCHWANK (D-Berks). LEOLA HARDY, senior attorney at Defender Association of Philadelphia and Juvenile Policy Analyst discusses the legal traps that get children and parents caught up in fines and possible jail time. Children miss school for several reasons; HEDY CHANG, executive director of Attendance Works, talks about why some children are chronically absent and preventative solutions to curb the problem.

Guests: NICOLE WEAVER, SAMANTHA DECARO, REBECKA PEEBLES

 

Eating disorders are not restricted to white, suburban, middle class teen girls. There are large populations of African American, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ and teenage boys who are experiencing eating disorders. In this hour, Mary talks with NICOLE WEAVER, who exercised excessively and dieted dangerously, about how she survived. We'll also talk with SAMANTHA DECARO, Assistant Clinical Director at The Renfrew Center of Philadelphia about treating eating disorders among diverse populations. And REBECKA PEEBLES, Co-Director of the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will discuss health outcomes and how the Internet can both help and harm young people.

Guest: Maia Szalavitz

Journalist MAIA SZALAVITZ became addicted to heroin and cocaine when she was a college student, injecting herself multiple times a day. She overdosed and was arrested for drug dealing, but every time she tried to quit she would relapse. Her struggles with drug abuse led her to question our assumptions and reexamine the science around addiction. In her book Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, Szalavitz argues that addiction is a learning problem not a disease or sign of moral weakness. She tells Marty it’s time to challenge the myths about treatment and recovery.

Guests: Jacques deLisle, David Rothkopf, Jeet Heer

Trump broke 37 years of US policy when he spoke with Taiwan’s leader, Tasi Ing-wen, on Friday.  Since 1979, the US has had a “One China” policy that considers Taiwan a Chinese territory.  The Chinese government and the diplomatic community have expressed concerns about the sudden break in protocol.  This is the latest of Trump’s controversial discussions world leaders since his election victory. Others have called into question his talks with the leaders of Pakistan, the Philippines and having his daughter attend his meeting with the president of Japan. Today on the show, we’ll hear about why Trump’s talk with Taiwan is historic when we speak with JACQUES deLISLE, deputy director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China.  We’ll then talk about the political and international policy implications of Trump’s talks with other foreign leaders when we’re joined by DAVID ROTHKOPF, CEO and editor of the FP Group, and JEET HEER, senior editor for The New Republic.

Guests: Erica Goode, Susan Phillips, Evan Lehmann and Jeremy Schulman

Alaska is on track to experience the warmest year on record. Climate change is often discussed in the political and legislative realms, but in some places it’s already having an impact on daily life. We’ll start the hour by talking about the village of Shaktoolik, an Alaskan village of less than 300 people that’s at imminent risk of destruction, leaving the residents to dig in their heels and try to fortify their homes, or join the stream of climate change refugees across the globe. We’ll discuss the rapid warming in Alaska with ERICA GOODE, a Science and Environment Reporter at the New York Times. Then, we’ll hear from State Impact’s SUSAN PHILLIPS about a gathering of 200 nations in Morocco that called on U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to join the fight against global warming. Finally, we’ll learn about how President-elect Donald Trump could change America’s direction on climate change policy and environmental legislation with EVAN LEHMANN, the Deputy Editor of ClimateWire at E&E News, an online media company that offers daily coverage of environmental and energy policy and markets, and JEREMY SCHULMAN, Senior Project manager for Climate Desk, a project of Mother Jones Magazine.

Guest: Elaine Khosrova

Butter. The little sticks that serves as culinary building blocks were accidentally invented long-ago in a herder’s pouch. The beloved fat is now a staple the world over, from Ireland’s ancient butter bogs to Tibet’s sacred butter sculptures. We discuss all things butter with food writer ELAINE KHOSROVA, who explores the story of butter and provides recipes in her new book Butter: A Rich History. Khosrova is a former fellowship student at the Culinary Institute of America who began her career in food publishing as a test kitchen editor at Country Living magazine. She’s contributed to numerous national food and lifestyle publications, as well as the Oxford Companion to Cheese.

Guests: Glenn Holsten, Rachel Carr Timms and Darlene Holmes Malone

We’ll go inside a beauty parlor that operates at a non-profit mental health program in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood, where staff and clients are both in the process of recovery. A new documentary, Hollywood Beauty Salon, was work-shopped at the beauty parlor over the course of four years. We’ll talk with director GLENN HOLSTEN and two women profiled in the film: salon operator RACHEL “Hollywood” CARR TIMMS, a psychiatric rehab practitioner, and DARLENE HOLMES MALONE, who’s dealt with abuse, depression and other mental health challenges.

Guests: Louise Erdrich, Cora Daniels, John L. Jackson, Eddie Glaude, Jr.

Coming up on today’s edition of Radio Times in Review, we’ll hear about boarding schools for American Indians when we play a portion of Marty’s talk with novelist LOUISE ERDRICH.  She used her experiences growing up on a Native American reservation as an inspiration for her book, LaRose. We’ll also delve into uncomfortable topics and why discussing the taboo can help discourse among different perspectives.  Journalist CORA DANIELS and anthropologist JOHN L. JACKSON wrote about the importance of this in their book Impolite Conversations.  And, we’ll listen back to Marty’s discussion about race in America with Princeton University professor EDDIE GLAUDE, JR.  He joined us earlier this year when his book, Democracy in Black was published.