by Gwen Outen

First me, then Sarah, then me again...You're probably starting to wonder if we're not in fact the same person with a slight issue with name memorization. Well, this is Gwen, and it is my honor to tell you what is coming up on the show on this red and pink laced day of love!

In our first hour, we'll talk with Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. about his recently published collection of biographies of African-Americans in history entitled, the African American National Biography. He, along with co-editor Evelyn Higginbotham, will explain how and why they picked the names that make up the 4,100 historical memoirs that are included in the eight volume collection. At the end of the hour, we'll wax nostalgic with the mighty, the ever powerful MIX TAPE! My personal mix tapes have thankfully become more sophisticated over the years. I still have old cassette tapes of me holding my portable tape recorder up to the radio speaker, recording the endless album rotations on OK 100 with my mother's voice screaming in the background that it's time for dinner. Later, on much cleaner, dinner-free recordings, I compiled every slow song I could find to play on days such as today. (next time I'll work harder at finding an actual Valentine to play the tape for. ~sigh~) We do love our mix tapes. We'll talk about what makes a good mix tape, run down the top 10 picks our faithful listeners sent in, and yours truly will give my pick of which song tops my list this year.

And if any of you are single or otherwise alone and "bah-humbugging" Valentine's Day, the next hour may be just the retort you need if anyone asks you while you're feeling down today. A recent article in Newsweek suggests that sadness isn't all bad. In fact, it's downright healthy. The article speaks mainly to the occasional bouts of sadness in response to a traumatic experience. Experiences perhaps more intense than not having a Valentine, but sadness is sadness, right? So tell us, Valentine's Day aside, how do you deal with the occasional pull of melancholy? And do you feel pressure from others to just snap out of it and get happy? Send us your comments. After that, New York Times film critic A.O. Scott talks about the demise of the romantic comedy. At the end of the hour, Chris Claremont, from Marvel comics talks about the life and career of Steve Gerber, writer and creator of Marvel hero, Howard the Duck. Gerber passed away last Sunday from complications of pulmonary fibrosis.

Whether you have a special someone, or you just ARE a special someone, enjoy today!