Educate and excite, inform and infuriate.
July 18th, 2008 — Advertising, Architecture, Controversy, Film, Music, NONFICTION
Director James Marsh’s new movie, Man on Wire: A Tale of High Crime, documents French high wire artist Philippe Petit’s August 7, 1974 tightrope walk between the then new, 1350-foot-high twin towers of the World Trade Center.
The film opens next week, Friday, July 25th. Marsh is a guest today on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, July 18th, 2 pm ET.
July 11th, 2008 — Hip-Hop, NONFICTION, Photography
The Treacherous Three, Norman Thomas H.S., 1981 by Joe Conzo
Fascination with hip-hop’s history is growing, as a generation that never saw it comes of age. Because of this, photographers who had the pluck to take pictures of the then developing scene are experiencing a renewed interest in their work. (I’ve even been the beneficiary of this new regard, enjoying my own show, last summer, of pictures taken mostly on Long Island, during the White Castle days of what would become Public Enemy.)
Today on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, July 11, at 2 pm ET, I’ll be speaking with Joe Conzo, whose pictures of formative hip-hop sextet the Cold Crush Brothers form the basis of seminal urban work in his book, Born in the Bronx; Janette Beckman, a British photog who, arriving here in NYC during the early ’80s, having exhausted punk, found fresh! inspiration shooting Run-DMC, Boogie Down Productions, and others (The Breaks: Stylin’ and Profilin’ 1982-1990); and Jamel Shabazz (Seconds of My Life), whose touching portraits, mostly of Black New Yorkers, have drawn comparisons to James Van Der Zee and Gordon Parks.
They’ll be briefly preceded by a conversation with Coloradoan jazz singer Rene Marie, whose controversial performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” ten days ago has drawn so much ire.
You can hear the ideas of these thoughtful innovators by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, you can check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, check out our archive for up to two weeks after broadcast.
July 4th, 2008 — Animation, Books, Entertainment, Film, NONFICTION
Infinity and beyond: Buzz Lightyear sketch from Toy Story (1995)
Pixar, the computer animation powerhouse behind such works as Toy Story, above, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and, currently, the number one movie in the country, Wall•E, has created one of the strongest, most dominant brands in entertainment. But, in its early days, the company stumbled and faltered repeatedly, staying in business by the sheer dint of its tenacious founders.
So says David A. Price in his new book, The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. David Price is today’s guest on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, July 4th, 2 pm ET.
June 20th, 2008 — Black Music, Culture, Education, Entertainment, Hip-Hop, NONFICTION, Pop Culture
Thinking broadly: George Washington Carver, 1906
What are the possible uses of hip-hop, all of them?
How many kinds of tasks can it do? It what kinds of ways might it be used, in order to help people better understand themselves and/or each other?
This question is, to me, the most important, yet least-addressed, as it pertains to hip-hop and its future. It’s also the one on which I’m focusing, assisted by a talented rapper and educator, during my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, June 20, 2 pm ET.
June 13th, 2008 — Children, Culture, NONFICTION, Race, Writing
Unusual sighting: Monty (Idris Elba), a mechanic, fathers his brood
It’s a story told so rarely—as it is, for example, in Tyler Perry’s 2007 film, Daddy’s Little Girls, above—that it’s, for the most part, nonexistent: What are the travails, challenges, joys, and rewards of bringing up children, alone, as a Black male?
In his new book, Bedtime Stories: Adventures in the Land of Single Fatherhood, suave literatus Trey Ellis grapples with the transformative experience of raising his daughter, Ava, 10, and son, Chet, 7, as a solo dad.
We’ll talk with him about his book on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, June 13, 2 pm ET.
May 2nd, 2008 — Art, Controversy, Design, NONFICTION, Politics, Radio, Religion, Terrorism
Would you wash the feet of Saudi terrorist, supposed Al Qaeda founder, and alleged 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden?
That’s the question implicit in the above piece of Christian art titled Servant to the World. Created by artist Lars Justinen, the image depicts Jesus Christ, dressed in the manner described in his Last Supper of John 13, washing the feet of prominent world leaders: Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, former British PM Tony Blair, Manmohan Singh, prime minister of India. In His hands is the right foot of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
In the implied sequence, bin Laden is next. He’s seated beside George Bush, President of the United States, the very man who has promised to hunt him down.
April 25th, 2008 — Controversy, Crime, Culture, Entertainment, Law, NONFICTION, Photography, Politics, Race, Sex, Terrorism
An estimated 5,000 Black human beings were lynched in the United States between the years 1890 and 1960. By averages, that’s one African-American dying horribly, in racist mob violence, every five days for seventy years. In almost all of these cases, no one was ever charged for the crimes. So affirms the guest on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, April 25, 2 pm ET.
April 18th, 2008 — Art, Aviation, Design, Government, Journalism, Military, NONFICTION, Photography, Technology
Typically, if you found yourself this close to the working end of an aerobatic sports plane, not to mention a Boeing 777, below, you’d be in a world of mess.
But if you’re Erik Hildebrandt, you’re, basically, at your desk. (Hey: That rhymes!)
One of the today’s most skilled aviation photographers, the Minnesota-based Hildebrandt is the guest on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, April 18, 2 pm ET.
March 21st, 2008 — Culture, NONFICTION, Science
Today, Friday, March 21, 2pm, the guest on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, will be Alan Lightman, author of the book, The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th-century Science, Including the Original Papers.
This November 2005 re-broadcast looks at how insight has influenced the discovery process in science, but, even more, why the last century’s greatest scientific discoveries, like those of Max Planck, above, formulator of quantum theory, are actually considered great.
Memphis native Alan Lightman received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology. His novels include Einstein’s Dreams, Good Benito, The Diagnosis, and Reunion. He lives in Massachusetts, and is an adjunct professor of humanities at MIT.
If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, you can check NONFICTION via our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, check out our archive for up to two weeks after broadcast.
March 21st, 2008 — NONFICTION
Our NONFICTION radio show conversation about Eliot Spitzer, featuring Brooke A. Masters, will not take place today due, to a scheduling conflict.
I’m disappointed about that, but more annoyed that I wasted that totally sweet Photoshop of Spitzer paying for sex.
Stay tuned for future announcements about NONFICTION broadcasts.
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