January 19 - 23, 2004
Monday, Jan. 19
Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement
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Larry Mantle talks with author Stewart Burns about his new history of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, To The Mountaintop: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Sacred Mission To Save America 1955-1968 (HarperSanFrancisco).
Robert Johnson and the Blues
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Larry Mantle talks with writer and musician Elijah Wald about his new book Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins).
Tuesday, Jan. 20
Iowa Caucuses
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In a surprising victory on Monday, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry won the Iowa Caucuses, kick starting his once faltering presidential candidacy. Equally surprising was the second place showing of North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Former Vermont Governor John Dean and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt finished a disappointing third and fourth respectively. Larry Mantle discusses the implications of the results for the candidates and their campaigns with Cathie Obradovich, Political Editor of The Des Moines Register, Ron Elving, senior Washington Editor, NPR, and David Menefee-Libey, Associate Professor of Politics at Pomona College.
Post-War Pulps
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Author and publisher Adam Parfrey joins Host Larry Mantle to talk about “adventure magazines” from the 1950s-70s. Artwork from these magazines is anything by “PC.” The sexy, lurid and, at times, racis covers depict scantily-clad women in the Amazon jungle or Nazi torturers looming over their helpless prey. What do these images say about Cold War America? And who read them? Adam Parfrey's new book is called It’s a Man’s World: Men’s Adventure Magazines, the Postwar Pulps (Feral House).
Low-Brow Art: Vicious, Delicious, and Ambitious
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Do you remember the sexy pin-ups painted on the noses of WWII bombers? This genre of art found its way onto the street in the 1950s and '60s, painted on cars, walls and used in tattoo parlors. Low-Brow art is popular art; some might call it “vulgar” art. It’s art that depicts women in sexy poses, surrounded by fantastic symbolism, and swirling in flames, fur, nipples and tassels. Low-Brow art used to be considered a male arena, but women took to the genre as well. A new book called Vicious, Delicious and Ambitious: 20th Century Women Artists (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd) showcases female low-brow artists. Joining Larry is Sherri Cullison, author of Vicious, Delicious, and Ambitious: 20th Century Women Artists (Schiffer), Stacy Lande, an allegorical portrait painter and a featured artist in Sherri Cullison’s book, and Christine Karas, low-brow artist who is also featured in Ms. Cullison’s book.
Wednesday, Jan. 21
The State of the Union Address
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On Tuesday night President Bush gives the State of the Union address in which he is expected to make an impassioned argument for our involvement in Iraq and the continued “War on Terror.” He is also expected to offer a plan to help Americans deal with rising health care costs and to address the nation’s rising unemployment problem with a program that would filter money to community colleges for job training. Joining Larry is Josh Macht, Managing Editor of Time.com, Arnold Steinberg, political consultant, Lisa Garcia Bedolla, Assistant Professor of Political Science at U.C. Irvine and Dan Caldwell, Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University.
L.A. Restaurants
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Larry Mantle talks with Patric Kuh, food critic for Los Angeles Magazine, and Michelle Huneven, restaurant reviewer at the LA Weekly about where to find the best food in Los Angeles and food trends in the city.
Restaurants discussed:
Rocca
Cheebo
Loteria
Noe
Opaline
Chloe
Sona
Bastide
Bistro M
Wa Sushi
Campanile
Lucques
AOC
Spago
Jar
Casa Bianca
Pie 'n Burger
Cafe Atlantic
Din Tai Fung
Guelaguetza
Vietnam House
Golden Deli
Thursday, Jan. 22
AirTalk Broadcasts from the Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah
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John Cooper, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, joins Host Larry Mantle to discuss Sundance.
Then, Larry talks with members of the foreign press about Sundance--the films, the filmmaking, the buzz! His guests include Ozwald Balfour, film critic with International Media Services, and Hannah McGill, Film Reviewer and Critic for The Herald in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Film programmer for the Edinburgh Film Festival.
Then, Larry discusses the business of international film with Mark Urman, Head of Distribution for ThinkFilm, and hosts a filmmakers' round table.
Friday, Jan. 23
AirTalk Broadcasts from the Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah
(Listen)
Larry Mantle hosts a filmmakers' round table. Guests include: Vondie Curtis Hall, Director of “Redemption;" Paola di Florio, director of “Home of The Brave;” Gina Levy, director of “Foo Foo Dust;” Ivy Meeropol, director for Heir to An Execution," and Jehane Noujaim, director of The Control Room (about Al Jazeera). Joining her is a journalist from Al Jazeera, Hasan Ibrahim.
Then, Larry does FilmWeek from Sundance. Joining him are critics Scott Foundas, Film Critic for Variety and L.A. Weekly and F.X. Feeney, Film Critic, L.A. Weekly.
