Show for Feb. 20, 2011. The Past Isn’t Even Past: Kinan and Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez, playwright and founder of El Teatro Campesino, and his son Kinan, also a writer, actor and theater director, discuss Luis’s play Mummified Deer. The play is currently being directed by Kinan for the Theater Arts Department at U.C. Santa Cruz. It’s a story of family secrets, the return of the repressed—including a bloody and little-known chapter of Mexican history—and the complexities of identity. Luis and Kinan also talk about their own family history, their lives in the theater and Luis’s aesthetic of rascuachismo (listen to the interview for the translation).
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the interview, or download the MP3 here.
More on Mummified Deer performances at UC Santa Cruz.
Visit El Teatro Campesino’s website.
Bonus info: during the interview, Kinan Valdez mentioned the influence of the carpa tradition. Read about it here.
Show for Nov. 28, 2010: Todd Gitlin—Israel, America and the Idea of Chosenness
Historian and cultural critic Todd Gitlin examines the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel and concludes that it goes deeper than geopolitics. He says the two countries have been shaped by a shared sense of heavenly purpose, a messianic belief that God is on their side. We discuss his new book The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel and the Ordeals of Divine Election, co-written by Liel Leibovitz.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen, or download the MP3 here.
Oct. 3, 2010: NPR’s Michele Norris and The Grace of Silence
Co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered Michele Norris contemplates America’s racial past by way of family history in her new memoir The Grace of Silence. In this interview she reflects on the things her parents did and didn’t tell her about their lives as African Americans, the importance of oral history and her feelings about her own work as a radio journalist.
We featured parts of this interview on our Oct. 3 pledge drive show, but here’s the whole thing. Click the “play” arrow above to listen, or download the MP3 here.
Show for July 11, 2010. Suffering for Science: Rebecca Herzig and Sandra Tsing Loh
Historian Rebecca Herzig describes a time in turn-of-the-century America when scientists were expected to lay down life and limb for their calling. Many did—but was it really necessary? Then, writer and performer Sandra Tsing Loh accentuates the fun side of science, but knows a thing or two about suffering for it, too.
Click the arrow above to listen. If you don’t have Flash player or have other playback problems, click this link for the MP3.
Show for July 4, 2010. Lift Every Voice and Sing: the Story of an Anthem. Frank Kameny: Gay Rights Before Stonewall.
Two stories for the 4th of July: In part 1, we listen to performances of Lift Every Voice and Sing, sometimes called the black national anthem, as historian Imani Perry discusses its meaning and importance to the civil rights struggle. In part 2, Frank Kameny recalls the early days of the gay rights movement. Kameny, now 85, led some of the key battles for gay equality, picketing the White House and staging 4th of July protests in the mid-1960s.
Click the “play” arrow above to listen to the show, or download the MP3 here (if using a Mac, control-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” If using a PC, right-click and choose Save Target As…”)
Show for April 4, 2010. What’s So Special About Tango?
We consider the music and dance that captured the hearts of millions. Guests include tango historians Donald Cohen and Christine Denniston, and members of the Santa Cruz tango community. (Show originally broadcast April, 2009.)
Richard Mayhew (subject of the Feb. 21, 2010 show).
Show for Feb 21, 2010. Richard Mayhew: Portrait of the Artist as a (Perpetually) Young Man
An interview with Richard Mayhew, noted landscape painter (though the label’s not quite right, for reasons he explains) about his life and work. Born in Long Island in 1926, joined the NYC art scene at the height of abstract expressionism, had a second career as a jazz singer, studied in Europe, helped found the Spiral collective of African-American artists (with Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis and others). Continues to paint tirelessly.
Show for Feb. 07, 2010. The Harvard Psychedelic Club
Fifty years ago, a group of Harvard faculty began experimenting with psychoactive drugs and helped turn on a generation. Robert looks back on a defining cultural moment with Don Lattin, author of “The Harvard Psychedelic Club,” and with Harvard alumnus Paul Lee, who took part in the experiments.
Show for Jan 10, 2010. The Real Mark Twain
What Mark Twain’s writing tells us about him and about America. Twain scholar Forrest Robinson looks behind the mask of America’s favorite humorist and finds a troubled conscience, haunted by history.
Show for Dec 27, 2009. Armenian Lullabies and Songs of Longing
In this end-of-the-year musical special, we put 2009 to bed with some exquisite, ethereal lullabies and other songs from the famed Armenian singer Hasmik Harutyunyan and the Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble. Along with the music, Hasmik and Shira Cion of Kitka discuss the tragic history and ancient music of Armenia.
Learn more about Hasmik Harutyunyan
Learn more about the Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble
