Weekend America for OCTOBER 28, 2006
Hour 1
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War Games
In America's Army, a video game funded by the United States Army, players are armed with guns and their aim is to shoot people on the opposing team in a war-torn country. During the game players send messages to each other. Media artist and professor at University of Nevada, Reno, Joseph Delappe joins the game, gets killed and then types in the names of real American soldiers who died in Iraq. So far he's typed over 1,300 names and he says he'll stop typing when the war in Iraq is over. We'll talk to Joseph and one of his critics in the gamer world about the meaning of his war memorial.
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War Reporter
This week, military reporters and editors have been meeting outside of Chicago to talk about covering conflict. Bill speaks with Washington Post foreign correspondent Rajiv Chandrasekaran about life inside the Iraq green zone, and with retired General David Grange, who has dealt with military and press issues from both sides--as a CNN commentator and as a commander during previous conflicts.
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- Music Bridge:
- Victimizer
- Artist: Mikkel Metal
- CD: Victimizer (Kompakt)
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Friendship Review
Robert Silvers and Barbara Epstein co-edited the The New York Review of Books for 43 years, until Epstein's death this past June. Epstein and Silvers had a remarkable working relationship. They shared ideas and shared every manuscript; they seemed to think with one mind, editorially. One of their last collaborations, called "The Company They Kept: Writers on Unforgettable Friendships" has recently been published. Barbara Bogaev talks with Robert Silvers about the book and about a friendship that spanned four decades.
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- Music Bridge:
- Weaving Song
- Artist: Phelan Sheppard
- CD: Harp's Old Master (Leaf)
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Catch Me If I Fall
Last week on the show, we talked with Tom Aiello, a veteran B.A.S.E. jumper and instructor, who was participating in the annual Bridge Day Festival in Fayetteville, West Virginia. B.A.S.E. jumpers are the extreme athletes who jump from buildings, antennae, spans and Earth. The sport can be dangerous, and at last week's event, veteran Brian Lee Schubert jumped to his death. Bill talks with Tom Aiello about the tragedy that unfolded before his eyes.
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- Music Bridge:
- A Gentle Dissolve (Shawn Lee Ping Pong Orchestra Remix)
- Artist: Thievery Corporation
- CD: ESL Remixed: The 100th Release Of ESL Music (ESL Musis)
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The Truth about Dracula
You know the story of Dracula, a man who lived on human blood and lured innocent girls to a fate truly worse than death. But before Bram Stoker's novel came out in 1897, Dracula had a different lore. Stoker got the name from a 15th-century count in Transylvania. He was known for impaling his enemies on spikes but he wasn't a vampire. Weekend America's Hillary Frank talks with a woman who, for the last three decades, has spent every Halloween trying to set the record straight.
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- Music Bridge:
- Always Something Better
- Artist: Trentemoller
- CD: Last Resort (Poker Flats)
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Fall Across America
In hopes of getting a snapshot of the seasonal changes across America--and outside of Southern California--Barbara talks with Scott Weidensaul. He's a naturalist and a writer. And he's been watching the colors explode and the birds migrate from eastern Pennsylvania.
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City of the Dead
Every year in San Francisco, there is a huge Day of the Dead celebration in the Mission. However, just a few miles away, there is literally a city of the dead. At last count, Colma, California had more than 2 million residents, but only 1,280 of them were living. Almost 75 percent of the town's land is used for cemeteries. With Halloween just around the corner, reporter Julie Small takes a tour of a town whose claim to fame is its population of almost 2 million dead people.
Hour 2
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Anything to Get Elected
As the campaign season ramps up in the next week, many politicians will resort to name-calling, half-truths and mud-slinging. Some might say their behavior is more commonly associated with junior high school than Congress. For a more direct comparison of those two established institutions, Minnesota Public Radio's Jeff Horwich went to Burnsville, Minnesota just hours before votes were cast for junior high student council.
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- Music Bridge:
- Toby
- Artist: Millennial Territory Orchestra
- CD: MTO Vol. 1 (Sunnyside)
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Survival Story
Last April, Bin Na Kim survived a gunshot wound to the head. The person wielding the weapon was her father. He also shot and killed his wife and son, before committing suicide. Bin Na is 16 and she is now learning how to walk again. Her story will be in West the Los Angeles Times' magazine on Sunday, and Erika Hayasaki, who wrote about Bin Na for the paper, talks with Bill about the teenager's harrowing experience.
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- Music Bridge:
- Toby
- Artist: Millennial Territory Orchestra
- CD: MTO Vol. 1 (Sunnyside)
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Jazz Music Pick: Rudresh Mahanthappa's
Bill sits down for some new music with critic Nate Chinen. Nate's a fan of alto sax player Rudresh Mahanthappa's. We hear from his latest album called "Codebook."
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St. Louis Beards
There's been a strange surge in Midwestern facial hair, as St. Louis Cardinals fans have been growing their "playoff beards." The belief is, not shaving during the post-season will give their team luck. Fans have also been sporting bright red goatees, in homage to the Cardinal's reserve infielder Scott Spezio. Independent producer Eve Troeh shares some thoughts on the intersection of facial hair and sport.
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Dog Tag Reunion
Five years ago while on vacation in Vietnam, Swede and Martha Roskum bought 37 American GI dog tags for $20. Roskum, a vet, thought it was shameful that the tags were treated as trinkets. The couple has since been reuniting the tags with their owners, or with surviving family members. The 29th tag was presented this week to Larry M. Fields of Vermilion, Ohio. His father was killed in 1967, 40 days before his scheduled return home. Bill talks to Martha Roskum and also to Larry Fields, about these artifacts from the past.
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Spooky Elephants
In Chicago, there's a creepy tale that involves a gruesome accident, a strange burial and a graveyard, called "Showman's Rest," that is haunted by elephants. It's in Forest Park, right outside of Chicago and it's a cemetery for circus performers. Independent producer Shannon Heffernan went looking for the whole eerie tale.
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- Music Bridge:
- Windward
- Artist: Lanterna
- CD: Sands (Badman)
