Archive for December, 2005

Here, Bullet

Friday, December 23rd, 2005

Brian Turner spent seven years in the army. He was deployed to Bosnia and to Iraq and he articulates some of the dislocation and some of the strange, quick moments of humor and even joy that being a soldier brings in his new volume of poetry called “Here, Bullet.” Host Frank Stasio speaks with poet Brian Turner. Listener Call-In. (40:00)

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1898 Wilmington Race Riot

Thursday, December 22nd, 2005

In the thirty years of reconstruction following the Civil War, the city of Wilmington, N.C. grew into a diverse and prosperous city.That cross-cultural prosperity ended in violence in November of 1898, when a democratic party coalition of white leaders and white supremacists took to the streets and attacked blacks. The ensuing riot would become the only successful overthrow of a local government in American history. Last week, a commission looking into the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot released a report and will soon offer recommendations to the N.C. General Assembly. Host Frank Stasio looks at the events and the legacy of the riot with: Timothy Tyson, historian and co-author of “Democracy Betrayed: the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and its Legacy” (UNC Press/1998); Irving Joyner a professor of law at North Carolina Central University and co-chairman of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission; and Harper Peterson, a member of the Commission and the mayor of Wilmington from 2001 to 2003. Listener Call-In. (59:00)

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Women In Prison

Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

Since 1980 the number of women in prison has grown twice as quickly as the number of incarcerated men, and the recidivism rates have also increased sharply. Experts look to sentencing structures, the war on drugs and the social vulnerability of impoverished women for causes of this dramatic increase. So what can be done to reverse this trend? Host Frank Stasio talks with Marc Mauer, Executive Director of the Sentencing Project; and Leoneda Inge, reporter for North Carolina Public Radio. (30:00)

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Allan Gurganus

Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

Host Frank Stasio speaks with author Allan Gurganus about his new short story in the January issue of Harper’s Magazine. “Fourteen Feet of Water in My House” is set in his hometown of Rocky Mount during the floods that followed Hurricane Floyd. (30:00)

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Lauren Winner

Tuesday, December 20th, 2005

Host Frank Stasio talks with Lauren Winner, visiting professor at Duke Divinity School. Winner grew up in western North Carolina and converted twice – first to Orthodox Judaism, and then to Christianity. She is author of the memoir “Girl Meets God” (Random House/2003), “Mudhouse Sabbath” (Paraclete Press/2003), and “Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity” (BrazosPress/2005). Listener Call-In. (59:00)

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