Archive for September, 2004

Downtown Revitalization/This Weekend

Thursday, September 23rd, 2004

Downtown Revitalization: With suburbs sprawling in all directions, North Carolina’s downtowns are suffering from a lack of investment and interest. David Crabtree hosts a discussion on downtown revitalization with Emil Malizia, professor and chair of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Dan Douglas, Director of the Raleigh Urban Design Center; and Daniel Craft, Greensboro resident and downtown investor. (40:00)

Joe Thompson: Joe Thompson was born in Mebane in 1918 and he grew up playing the African-American fiddle tunes of his father and grandfather. Host David Crabtree talks with Joe Thompson as well as: Iris Chapman, a cousin and maker of a documentary about Joe’s life; and Bob Carlin, a friend and fellow musician. Joe Thompson once played Carnegie Hall and became well-known during the folk music revival of the 1970s. The town of Mebane declared Saturday, September 25th “Joe Thompson Day.” (10:00)

Isaac Akers: Isaac Akers is a 10-year-old fiddle player. He speaks with host David Crabtree about his music, his influences, and what drew him to play old-time fiddle music. Isaac Akers and Friends perform as part of the Carrboro Music Festival, this Sunday, September 26th. (7:00)

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Bloodsworth

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2004

Bloodsworth: In 1993, Kirk Bloodsworth became the first death row inmate to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Host David Crabtree talks with Kirk Bloodsworth; Tim Junkin, author of “Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA” (Algonquin/2004); Rich Rosen, professor of law at UNC-Chapel Hill; and Binyamin Appelbaum, reporter at the Charlotte Observer, about the use of DNA evidence to prosecute criminals and exonerate the innocent. Listener Call-in. (55:00)

Commentary: On Wednesday, September 15th an article called, “Extra Credit,” appeared on the front page of The Chapel Hill News. It reported that a Carolina undergraduate had posed nude for Playboy Magazine at a UNC-Chapel Hill Chemistry professor’s house. The incident as well as the media’s coverage of it left writer Amy Tiemann angry and upset. (4:00)

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Editors/Derek McCormack

Tuesday, September 21st, 2004

Editors-At-Large: Host David Crabtree speaks with newspaper editors from across the state about the issues of the day. Guests include: Dan Barkin, managing editor at the Raleigh News and Observer; and Steve Gunn, metro editor at the Charlotte Observer. (20:00)

Derek McCormack. Canadian experimental writer Derek McCormack talks to David Crabtree about his new novel, “The Haunted Hillbilly” (Soft Skull Press/2004). Written like a comic book without the pictures, “The Haunted Hillbilly” features a fictionalized version of Nudie, the Rodeo Tailor who made Elvis Presley’s famous gold lame suit. In the novel, Nudie is a vampire and sets about posessing a fictionalized Hank Williams. It’s Tales From The Crypt meets the Grand Ole Opry. . .

Musicians in Their Own Words: Emmylou Harris: The iconic singer talks about the essence of country music, remembers Gram Parsons and Johnny Cash, and describes her creative process. Her latest CD is the Grammy-nominated, “Stumble into Grace” (Nonesuch/2003). Producer David Schulman’s series, “Musicians in their own words” is supported by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (6:00)

Working: In the first of an ongoing series of conversations with regular people in interesting jobs (or interesting people in regular jobs), host David Crabtree speaks to Bilal Saib, a dentist from Chapel Hill. (11:30)

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The Great American Undecided Voter

Monday, September 20th, 2004

The Great American Undecided Voter: WUNC’s Dave DeWitt has some advice for the presidential candidates: get to know his brother, Mike. (3:00)

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Linda Bloodworth-Thomason

Monday, September 20th, 2004

Linda Bloodworth-Thomason: Emmy-Award winning writer and producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason will join host David Crabtree to discuss her debut novel “Liberating Paris” (William Morrow/September 2004). She began her career writing episodes of MASH before creating the sitcoms “Desigining Women” and “Evening Shade.” Her debut novel, set in small-town Paris, Arkansas, tells the story of six best friends who have just passed their 40th birthdays and now must come to terms with the past in order to move forward with their lives. (47:00)

David Barber: Host David Crabtree speaks with Congressman David Price (D) about the passing of David Barber, former chair of the political science department at Duke University. (9:00)

The Great American Undecided Voter: WUNC’s Dave DeWitt has some advice for the presidential candidates: get to know his brother, Mike. (3:00)

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