Programs for the Week of Feb 28

Our Winter Membership Drive continues this week on WPR. Thanks to everybody who gave us such a great showing on the first day of the drive when Here on Earth racked up over $8000 in pledges! We'll be taking your pledges all week but, for Here on Earth, our big day comes this Friday, March 4th when we'll be joined by Barry Levenson, Curator of the Mustard Museum when our thank you gift will be a jar of Jean Feraca's Mustard on Earth! Click here to pledge now!

Jean’s Pick of the Week (watch video): Tunisia, Cairo, Wisconsin: It is difficult not to get caught up in the heady swell of people power as we witness the demise of dictators all over the Arab world while here at home, protestors against the perceived injustices of the governor's Budget Repair Bill continue to draw their energy from "A Force More Powerful."

Monday: Al Jazeera's Revolution: When it came into existence fifteen years ago, Al Jazeera was the first Arab broadcaster not completely controlled by a government. Now it's been playing a crucial role in the current uprisings sweeping the Arab world. How did Al Jazeera become the enemy of dictatorship and a friend to democracy?

Tuesday: An Optimist's Tour of the Future: Healthcare tailored to genetic profiles, machines that pull carbon dioxide out of the air, what's next? Writer Mark Stevenson set out to answer that question by talking with scientists and philosophers around the world who are thinking deep into the future.

Wednesday: A Force More Powerful: The uprising that started in Tunis was carried into Egypt and is now throughout much of the Middle East and North Africa is being spread through the power of non-violent resistance. What is the history of nonviolent resistance, and what we can learn from those brave enough to use its power as a strategy to topple atrocious regimes?

Thursday: Big in China: When suburban dad Alan Paul's wife was offered a job as the Wall Street Journal's China Bureau Chief in Beijing, he agreed to move the whole family, including three kids, to China. But instead of just being the tag-along, he ended up with an adventure of his own, founding and fronting a Chinese blues band that made it big in China.

Friday: Food Whiz Quiz and Mustard on Earth: Barry Levenson, curator of the Mustard Museum, joins us for another round of the Food Whiz Quiz. We'll also be offering a very special pledge premium: "Jean Feraca's Mustard on Earth"! You can choose this thank you gift during our show or anytime during the drive when you pledge to the Ideas Network.

It's an exciting week, it's an exciting world, it's an exciting time to be Here on Earth!

Jean

The King's Speech - 2/21

Dominique Haller

In today's show, we'll be discussing the aspects of class that are part of the Oscar-nominated film The King's Speech. We won't be focusing on stuttering, which is obviously a big aspect of the film but isn't tied to our focus today. If you want to inform yourself on stuttering or are looking for support, click here to go to the National Stuttering Association.

Below, you can see an video of the real King George VI giving a speech in 1938. While his stutter is almost not audible, you can see him literally struggle with some of the words. It's impressive to see.



What did you think of The King's Speech? Did you see it as a film about a stutterer, a film about class, or a film about a hero? Leave your comments below!

Programs for the Week of Feb 21

Action Alert: Threats to Public Broadcasting: This week Congress is set to take a vote that is virtually certain to include ELIMINATION of all federal funding for public radio and television. This includes Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television. Click here to learn more and to make a difference.

Our Winter Membership Drive begins this week on WPR. Volunteers will be taking your pledges all week but for Here on Earth, the two big days of the drive are this Thursday, the kick-off day, and the last day, Friday, March 4th when Barry Levenson, Curator of the Mustard Museum joins us for another round of the Food Whiz Quiz. We'll also be offering a very special pledge premium, "Jean Feraca's Mustard on Earth"! You can choose this thank you gift during our show with Barry on the 4th or anytime during the drive when you pledge to the Ideas Network.

Jean’s Pick of the Week: A Love Divine: Well, it goes without saying that I loved the Rumi Valentine's Day show. Coleman Barks knows Rumi's poetry so well that it just rolls off his tongue in that southern drawl of his. I was quite riveted by his description of the waking dream he had that prepared him for the arrival of Bawa, his Sufi guru. And it was quite thrilling to hear from an Afghan caller who introduced Rumi to us as Mowlana, the name by which he is known in Afghanistan, and shared his story of a deep friendship with a man he called his Shams. Beautiful.

Monday: The King’s Speech: While the American public sees the Oscar-nominated film "The King’s Speech" as a story about the king heroically overcoming his personal limitations in the face of great adversity, the same film in the UK is perceived as being a story about class differences. What does the film teach us about class in the UK? How did you see "The King’s Speech?"

Tuesday: Peace, Love and Parazit: Iran's Daily Show: Tired of their routine jobs, Saman Arbabi and Kambiz Hosseini, two irreverent young Iranians, started a comedy program called Parazit that's modeled after Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and broadcast over The Voice of America. The show is billed for those who "don’t have the patience for news ... and all news is bad news."

Wednesday: Inside Islam: What kind of a book is the Qur’an?: What kind of a book is the Qur’an? Does it incite Muslims to violence? What are its core messages? What kind of God is Allah? We'll talk with UW-Madison professor Anna Gade about the Qur'an and why it is so misunderstood.

We want to hear from you as well! Send your questions about the Qur'an to our Facebook page or to hereonearth@wpr.org and tune in to the show.

Thursday: The Peace Corps Turns Fifty, Part II: We'll kick off our Winter Pledge Drive with a preview of the UW's Peace Corps and Africa Conference featuring stories of impact from returnees.

Friday: Day of Honey: While living in Baghdad and Beirut for six years during the time of the Iraq invasion and the Lebanese war Annia Ciezadlo broke bread with Shiites and Sunnis, warlords, and refugees, matriarchs and mullahs. From the oldest recipes in the world to her Lebanese mother-in-law’s rare family recipes, she shows us a Middle East full of humor and delicious flavors that outlive even the most tumultuous of times.

Images of Tahrir 2/16

Carly Yuenger

A lot has changed since our program on the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia earlier this month. We're already thinking about follow up programs as new systems of governance are organized in these countries and protesters in others take to the streets.

One amazing piece of the story in Egypt was how quickly protesters organized the space of Tahrir Square. The BBC has put together a great interactive photo map so you can get a better picture of the scene. Click on the image below to be taken to their website where you can browse photos of different sites around the square.

You can tell us what you've been thinking as events have unfolded and what you'd like to hear us cover in our upcoming programs by leaving a comment below, emailing us at hereonearth@wpr.org, contacting us at Facebook or Twitter or by leaving a message at 1-877-GLOBE-07.

A Love Divine - 2/14

Dominique Haller

On today's Valentine's Day show, we will be speaking about the most popular poet in the United States today - Rumi! Coleman Barks, translator of Rumi, will join us to discuss how Rumi's friendship with his teacher Shams inspired him for the rest of his life.

Have you ever met a teacher and friend that inspired your entire life? What is your favorite Rumi poem? Tell us if you celebrate this Valentine's Day with Rumi's poetry!

Programs for the Week of Feb 14

We have a lovely line-up for the week ahead: Rumi for Valentine’s Day; a live interview with Shirin Neshat, Iranian video artist extraordinaire; two programs in honor of African-American history month: one about Harlem, and the other with the author of the soulful cookbook, High on the Hog, and finally, the prospects for South Sudan, Africa’s newest country.

NB: Coming up on INSDE ISLAM: February 23: What are your questions about the Qur’an? Does the Qur’an incite Muslims to violence? What are its core messages? What kind of God is Allah? Send your questions to us via Facebook or Twitter under hereonearthshow, or by email at hereonearth@wpr.org. We’ll use as many as possible when we talk with UW-Madison Professor Anna Gade.

Jean’s Pick of the Week: India Calling: I have to admit my image of India was stuck in the sixties, maybe a hangover from the Beetles, but not anymore! After an hour with Anand Giridharadas, who grew up loathing the land of his parents, and ended up loving it, I now think of India as an awakening giant, and I will never romanticize poverty again.

Monday: A Love Divine: When Rumi, the 13th century poet and founder of Sufism, met his teacher, Shams of Tabriz, he was introduced to a deeper kind of love that would inspire him for the rest of his life. On this Valentine’s Day you’ll see Rumi’s poetry books in every bookstore. But what sort of love was Rumi really talking about?

Tuesday: Women Without Men: Venice Film Festival prizewinner Shirin Neshat depicts the life of four Iranian women in “Women Without Men” during the politically tumultuous summer of 1953. The movie catalogs political change through the personal stories of a prostitute, a rebel, a traditionalist, and an unhappy wife. We talk with Iranian-born visual artist Neshat about her movie and “Rapture” the video installation currently at MMoCA, Madison’s Museum of Contemporary Art.

Wednesday: Harlem is Nowhere: Known worldwide as a center of cultural and political achievement, Harlem could be described as the capital of Black America. Now threatened by gentrification, we’ll talk with Harlem’s most recent chronicler Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts about old-fashioned rootedness and what it takes for a community to fight for the value of place.

Thursday: A New Sudan: After the Southern Sudanese overwhelmingly voted in favor of secession from Khartoum, Southern Sudan is slated to become the youngest country on the African continent as of July 9th. While the vote has been viewed as a success by the international community, the new country will face considerable challenges as it makes its transition to full independence. Have you ever witnessed the birth of a country?

Friday: High on the Hog: From Gorée Island in Senegal to Ibo Landing in the Low Country of the American South, from ham hocks to chitlins to fried chicken and vegan soul, we’ll invite Jessica B. Harris, Grande Dame of African American cookbooks, to tell us about the people and the recipes that gained the peoples of Africa their hard-won place at the American table.

Exciting news coming out of Egypt right now. Stay tuned to NPR. My husband and I are planning a trip to Syria later this spring. I hope we get to go!

Jean

Programs for the Week of Feb 7

Jean’s Pick of the Week: Fortunate Sons: Liel Leibovitz tells a great story about the fortunes of 120 Chinese boys who were sent to the U.S. by the Qing Dynasty in 1872 to be educated at New England's elite schools and bring back the best ideas from their "barbarian" cousins across the sea, but by the time they returned their country was unrecognizable. The program in its wider context is really about the ever shifting relations between China and the U.S. and the profound ways in which we continue to influence one another. Fun and illuminating.

Monday: Adulthood II: What would you do with a second adulthood? Humans are living longer and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson says it's time we embrace what she calls the "age of active wisdom." We'll discuss the value of longevity in our own lives and to a world in need of a longer perspective.

Tuesday: Mrs. Goundo's Daughter: A new documentary airing on PBS this week describes one Malian woman's determination to protect her daughter from female genital mutilation by seeking asylum in the United States. We'll speak with the co-director and an advocate who says FGM is an issue in need of attention right here in America.

Wednesday: India Calling: Anand Giridharadas grew up in America but returned to India, his parents’ country, to get a closer look at how the India they left had turned into the economic powerhouse that the whole world is watching.

Thursday: An Optimist's Tour of the Future: Healthcare tailored to genetic profiles, machines that pull carbon dioxide out of the air, what's next? Writer Mark Stevenson set out to answer that question by talking with scientists and philosophers around the world who are thinking deep into the future.

Friday: At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Lori Skelton steps in to talk with the high priestess of Indian cooking. But don't worry, her latest book is written for those of you who find South Asian cooking a little intimidating.

Thanks to Carly Younger for putting together this week's bulletin. I've been struggling all week with injuries I suffered from a fall last Sunday while ice skating. Anybody want a pair of size seven and a half figure skates?

Jean