Archive for January, 2005

Deconstructing Science

Monday, January 24th, 2005

Deconstructing Science: By the time scientific research makes its way into the mainstream media, it can look a lot different than it started out. According to Priscilla Wald, professor of English at Duke University, distorted depictions of research can create unfounded fear and anxiety. Host Rusty Jacobs talks with Wald about how science is depicted in movies, books, and the news. He also talks with Joe Palca, NPR science reporter; Myron Cohen, director of the Center for Infectious Disease at the University of North Carolina; and Maria Pramaggiore, director of film studies at North Carolina State University. Listener Call-In. (59:00)

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Blood Done Sign My Name/Leaving Eden

Friday, January 21st, 2005

Blood Done Sign My Name: Host Melinda Penkava talks with Timothy Tyson, the author of “Blood Done Sign My Name” (Crown/2004). Tyson, a professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, grew up in the small North Carolina town of Oxford. In 1970, when Tyson was ten years old, an African-American man named Henry Marrow was killed outside a store in broad daylight by a white man. The incident enflamed racial tensions and touched off rioting in the town. Tyson’s book, which is part historical account and part memoir, has been selected by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as its recommended reading for incoming students. (54:00)

(This portion of the program originally aired May 24, 2004.)

Leaving Eden: Laurelyn Dosset is a singer songwriter with the North Carolina based band Polecat Creek. When she wrote the song “Leaving Eden,” she thought of it as a personal story, but when several media outlets asked to use her lyrics in their stories about textile quotas, she found herself joining ranks with the likes of Si Kahn and Woody Guthrie.

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Trash

Thursday, January 20th, 2005

Trash: Mongo is New York City street slang for trash scavengers’ loot. Host Melinda Penkava talks to Ted Botha, author of “Mongo: Adventures in Trash” (Bloomsbury 2004) about mongo collecting. Melinda also speaks with Ann Woodward, program director of The Scrap Exchange in Durham, a re-use arts organization, and with Bryant Holsebeck, a nationally known environmental and community artist. Also, Asheville musician Billy Jonas takes SOT fill-in host, David Crabtree, on a tour of WUNC to see what music he can make from items found in and around the station. (59:00) (JG)

(Program originally aired July 13, 2004.)

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Whales/Bees

Wednesday, January 19th, 2005

Whales: More than 30 pilot whales beached themselves near Oregon Inlet on North Carolina’s coast last weekend. Host Melinda Penkava talks Barbie Byrd, research fishery biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about the increased whale activity off the Carolina coast.

Bees: In North Carolina, honeybees are relied upon to pollinate $100 million worth of crops every year. Honeybees and hive products account for another $10 million dollars anually in the state. But according to leading bee researchers in the state, North Carolina is headed towards a honeybee crisis. Melinda Penkava talks with David Tarpy, professor of entomology at North Carolina State University; Stan Schneider, professor of biology at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte; Jeffrey Lee, beekeeper and owner of Lee’s Bees Incorporated of Mebane.

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Tift Merritt

Tuesday, January 18th, 2005

Tift Merritt: Host Melinda Penkava speaks with alternative country singer and musician Tift Merritt. The North Carolina artist earned critical acclaim for her first album “Bramble Rose” (Lost Highway/2002). Her second album, Tambourine” (Lost Highway/2004) earned a Grammy award nomination for Best Country Album. (59:00)

Originally aired Aug. 31, 2004.

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