This Week's Program Highlights Wednesday, August 25 - Sunday, September 5, 2010.

Wednesday 8/25

4:00-5:00 PM
Issues and Ideas ... How the 911-Truth billboards began appearing around town; Tom Wilmer's Wines of Livermore Valley; and the Women's Community Center BETTER program are among the topics of today's program.

6:30-7:00 PM
An Evening With ... The Shallows: Best-selling author and journalist Nicholas Carr's recent book, What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, has opening up a dialog that has long been stirring. Carr moves the argument forward by looking at the similarities between historical events: The printing press is an example of how our mind and body responds to change.

Thursday 8/26

4:00-5:00 PM
New Dimensions Radio ... The Wisdom, Insight, and Wit of Birds: Naturalist, author, and broadcast journalist Sy Montgomery explains, "All animals are gifted with extensions of the senses, that we've lost or never attained. When you're around any creature, according to Montgomery, you're expanding your world by being part of the whole sensory experience they're having that's slightly different from ours."

Friday 8/27

11:00-NOON
McPartland's Piano Jazz ... Five years ago Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but the city's musical heritage is indestructible. Piano Jazz pays tribute to the Crescent City on this session with one of her favorite sons -legendary pianist, singer, composer and producer Allen Toussaint. The ever-eclectic Elvis Costello sits in as guest host for this session, which features Toussaint singing and playing his hit tune "Southern Nights" and a duet with Costello on the pair's recent collaboration -- "Ascension Day."

7:00-8:00 PM
the Club McKenzie ... Nichols' Pennies: One of the most prolific jazz trumpet artists, Red Nichols, began his recording career in the early 1920s. By the end of the decade, he had recorded with several dozen labels, and a plethora of talented musicians, although he's best known for his sessions under the name of Red Nichols and his Five Pennies.

Sunday 8/29

11:00-NOON
This American Life ... American Limbo: This program features stories of people living completely outside the grid of American life. Americans in Paris. Chinese in America. West Virginians in tree houses. Mexican-Americans in Rochester.

6:00-7:00 PM
Selected Shorts ... Strong Men, Stronger Women: "Second-Hand Man" by Rita Dove, read by Audra McDonald, and, "The Winnowing of Mrs. Schuping" by Padgett Powell, read by James Naughton.

Monday 8/30

4:00-5:00 PM
Trust in America ... Trust in Media: Media critic Norman Soloman joins co-hosts Charles Feltman and Guy Rathbun for the final show of this 3-part series.

Wednesday 9/1

4:15-4:30 PM
The Reluctant Therapist ... Annie and the Media: Just because it sounds good it doesn't mean that it's good for you. The Reluctant Therapist discusses our need for a healthier media diet. It's time, she says, to lay off the junk stories.

6:30-7:00 PM
An Evening With ... Assessing Afghanistan: Now that the focus of American troops is solely upon Afghanistan, it seems that would naturally translate to improved conditions for the locals. The opposite has occurred. Civilian assassinations and public executions of anyone perceived to be connected with Afghan's government or international forces, have alarmingly increased. Political professor Tricia DeGennaro examines how this is affecting Afghani women.

Thursday 9/2

4:00-5:00 PM
New Dimensions Radio ... Zen in a Basket of Laundry: "If we're not careful, the lives we're most devoted to are the lives we don't have." With this simple observation, Buddhist Karen Maezen Miller reminds us that we're forever chasing the next promising moment in our lives. The problem is, of course, that moment never comes. Miller is a Zen Buddhist priest and meditation teacher at the Hazy Moon Zen Center in Los Angeles.

6:00-7:00 PM
US Senate Debate ... KCBX is broadcasting a debate between Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican candidate Carly Fiorina. The candidates will answer questions from a panel of journalists, including The California Report's Scott Shafer..

Friday 9/3

11:00-NOON
McPartland's Piano Jazz ... The multifaceted Vijay Iyer's resume includes pianist, composer, bandleader, writer and PhD. candidate in Physics. Last year his Vijay Iyer Trio won a treasure trove of accolades for the album Historicity. On this session, Iyer performs Geri Allen's "I'm All Smiles," and duets with guest host Arturo O'Farrill on the bluesy Iyer original "Abundance."

6:30-7:00 PM
the Club McKenzie ... Nichols' Pennies - Part 2: This show focuses on the years Red Nichols spent with the California Ramblers, and offshoots from that group. Although Nichols admits the influence of Bix Beiderbecke, his unique style and personal contributions to early jazz are evident in the recordings.

Sunday 9/5

11:00-NOON
This American Life ... Family Physics: Take the stately laws of physics -- laws which mathmaticians and scientists have spent centuries discovering and verifying -- and apply them to the realm of human relationships. Today's show uses these insights to see if they shed useful light on our daily lives.

6:00-7:00 PM
Selected Shorts ... Women on a Mission: "A Shock for the Countess," by C.S. Montayne, read by Fionnula Flanagan, and, "Katherine Comes to Yellow Sky," by Mark Helprin, read by Lisa Gay Hamilton.