Music News A 'Great Big' Biography of Tommy Dorsey December 31, 2005 • A major big band leader is the subject of a new book: Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way. With his brother Jimmy, Dorsey helped define American popular music from the 1920s through the mid 1950s. Peter Levinson tells Linda Wertheimer about his biography. A 'Great Big' Biography of Tommy Dorsey Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5077641/5077642" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
A 'Great Big' Biography of Tommy Dorsey Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5077641/5077642" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Top Music Picks for 2005 Songs from a Year of 'Music Lust' December 31, 2005 • Nic Harcourt, host of KCRW's popular Morning Becomes Eclectic and author of Music Lust, talks about his book, along with some of the best music you've probably missed this past year. Songs from a Year of 'Music Lust' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076321/5076354" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Songs from a Year of 'Music Lust' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076321/5076354" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Champagne': The Evolution of Bubbly December 31, 2005 • In Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times, Don and Petie Kladstrup offer the history of a New Year's Eve staple that had rather inauspicious beginnings. 'Champagne': The Evolution of Bubbly Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076232/5076248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Champagne': The Evolution of Bubbly Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076232/5076248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Poetry End-of-Year Reflections from Ted Kooser December 31, 2005 • As we reach the end of the year, U.S. poet laureate Ted Kooser joins host Melissa Block to read a reflection — in prose — on welcoming in a new year, from his book Local Wonders. End-of-Year Reflections from Ted Kooser Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075948/5076772" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
End-of-Year Reflections from Ted Kooser Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075948/5076772" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Opinion Analysis Links Between the Iraq War and 'The Next Attack' December 30, 2005 • The Iraq war has increased the threat of terrorism by spreading the jihadist threat to Muslim communities that were less radicalized before the invasion, argues Daniel Benjamin. He's co-author of a new book, The Next Attack, and a former National Security Council staffer in the Clinton administration. Links Between the Iraq War and 'The Next Attack' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076745/5076746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Links Between the Iraq War and 'The Next Attack' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5076745/5076746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Science Exploring the Relationship Between Music and Memory December 30, 2005 • Oliver Sacks, the prominent neurologist, author and researcher, talks about the many mysteries of the human brain. He's working on a new book about music and memory, focusing on a musician whose memory lasts but for a few seconds but who can recall whole musical pieces, and even conduct an orchestra. Exploring the Relationship Between Music and Memory Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075918/5075919" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Exploring the Relationship Between Music and Memory Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075918/5075919" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Alcoholica Esoterica': The Culture of Drinking December 30, 2005 • Renee Montagne talks to Ian Lendler, author of Alcoholica Esoterica, about the culture of booze and the basic groups: whiskey, rum, tequila and more. 'Alcoholica Esoterica': The Culture of Drinking Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075551/5075552" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Alcoholica Esoterica': The Culture of Drinking Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5075551/5075552" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Arts & Life Actor Gene Wilder: 'Kiss Me Like a Stranger' Fresh Air December 29, 2005 • Gene Wilder made his film debut as a kidnap victim in the 1967 Bonnie and Clyde. He is known for his work with Mel Brooks, in addition to the classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Wilder has written a new memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. Actor Gene Wilder: 'Kiss Me Like a Stranger' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4537395/5074075" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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Memoir Recalls 'My Fundamentalist Education' December 28, 2005 • Author Christine Rosen talks about My Fundamentalist Education, her humorous and affectionate memoir of growing up in the 1980s in a fundamentalist household. Memoir Recalls 'My Fundamentalist Education' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5072667/5072668" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Memoir Recalls 'My Fundamentalist Education' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5072667/5072668" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Long View George Elsey's 'Unplanned Life' December 28, 2005 • George McKee Elsey quietly witnessed and participated in the making of American history as an aide to two presidents — Roosevelt and Truman. Now 88, he tells his story in An Unplanned Life. George Elsey's 'Unplanned Life' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5071813/5071818" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
George Elsey's 'Unplanned Life' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5071813/5071818" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Read Any Good Books? 'A Million Little Pieces' by James Frey December 26, 2005 • Listener Theresa recommends this memoir of surviving drug abuse and its sequel, My Friend Leonard. "Don't let the swear words discourage you from reading," she writes.
Review Book Reviews 'Christ the Lord': An Earnest Mess December 26, 2005 • Our reviewer says of Anne Rice's latest, best-selling novel Christ the Lord: "No novel could be so bad as to shake the faith of millions upon millions, but this one comes awfully close." 'Christ the Lord': An Earnest Mess Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5070199/5070200" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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'Rise and Fly': The Story of Bid Whist December 26, 2005 • Bid Whist, a card game of bidding with partners to earn points, originated in London. How did it become a favorite among African Americans? Ed Gordon talks with Greg Morrison, co-author of Rise and Fly: Tall Tales and Mostly True Rules of Bid Whist. 'Rise and Fly': The Story of Bid Whist Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5069913/5069914" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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'Tsunami Song': A Poem December 26, 2005 • Poet Freda Denis-Cooper reads her poem "Tsunami Song" written for all the people whose lives were forever changed by the tsunami in Africa and Asia. Denis-Cooper lives in Durham, N.C.. Her collection of poems is titled Stones Unturned: The Soul Poetic. 'Tsunami Song': A Poem Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5069910/5069911" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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A Novel Approach to the Story of Paul December 24, 2005 • James Cannon is the author of Apostle Paul: A Novel of the Man Who Brought Christianity to the Western World. He discusses his fictional take on the important historical figure with Scott Simon. A Novel Approach to the Story of Paul Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5068777/5068778" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
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