|
Dec 2010 |Nov 2010 |Oct 2010 |Sep 2010 |Aug 2010 |Jul 2010 |Jun 2010 | May 2010|
Apr 2010 |Mar 2010 | Feb 2010| Jan 2010
July 2010
Week of July 4, 2010
Segment 1: Mobster Dad
  
Jennifer Mascia, Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir was the only child of a loving couple. It was only when her father was on his deathbed that she learned his dark secret. He spent 12 years in prison for murder, then murdered several others after his parole.
"There’s a separation there. And, it’s hard for me to judge the father who raised me and reconcile that person with the one that did these terrible things."
- Jennifer Mascia
Segment 2: Red Scare
Mike O'Connor, Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run spent most of his childhood never knowing why the family would suddenly have to flee into Mexico. O'Connor is an award-winning investigative journalist. He turns his reporting skills to investigate his parents and what kept them on the run throughout their lives.
June 2010
Week of June 27, 2010
Segment 1: International Adoptions - A Mother's Journey
Adopting a child from another country is fraught with emotions on all sides. Beth Nonte Russell, Forever Lily: An Unexpected Mother's Journey to Adoption in China went to China to support a friend who was adopting a little baby girl. She wasn't expecting her friend to reject the baby and ask Beth to take her instead. She tells the remarkable story of going to China as a tourist and returning a mother.
"It blew my heart wide open. I felt that she was so deserving, not just of my love, but of just love in general. ... It was a demarcation in my life from sort of not having that heart engaged, to having it fully engaged. To the point it changed my life totally."
- Beth Nonte Russell
Segment 2: International Adoptions - A Child's Journey
Hollee McGinnis is the Policy and Operations Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Institute. She was adopted from an orphanage in South Korea at the age of three. She has since been united with her birth family and leads trips of adult adoptees to South Korea.
Week of June 20, 2010
Segment 1: "Vote for Jesus: When Politics and Religion Collide"
Thirty years ago, with the passage of Roe v. Wade, Evangelical Christians entered the political fray. In the middle of it all was Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back. The son of the late Evangelical author and speaker Francis Schaeffer, Frank shares his personal experiences.
"I'm sorry for the part I played in that. I look back with great regret now at the fact that had it not been for my father and I and a lot people we inspired, it's very unlikely somebody like George W. would have been president for eight years."
- Frank Schaeffer
Segment 2: The Family
Then ... Jeff Sharlet, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power investigates the secretive, pseudo-Christian group that operates at the highest levels of government and industry.
Week of June 13, 2010
Segment 1: Free Burma
Born in the jungles of Eastern Burma, Zoya Phan, Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma is a member of the Karen ethnic group. Through the story of her life, she describes the struggle for democracy against Burma's brutal military dictatorship.
"We walked through the jungle for weeks. While we were in the jungle, we had very little food and no shelter. We had to survive with anything we could find in the jungle. With many people, not just our family, thousands and thousands of people…"
- Zoya Phan
Segment 2: Starting Over
Ever thought of running a Bed and Breakfast? How hard could it be? Carol Eron Rizzoli, The House at Royal Oak: Starting Over & Rebuilding a Life One Room at a Time and her husband Hugo had to make a change in their lives. So in 2001, they took a chance on an old Victorian house near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. After two years of renovations and many set-backs, they were able to open and start a new life.
Week of June 6, 2010
Segment 1: Invisible Women
Qanta Ahmed, In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom a doctor, was raised and educated in the UK. She spent two years in Saudi Arabia working at a hospital. She describes the surprising women she met and how they live under oppressive laws.
"This is not a judgment on veiling. Veiling I think is always the choice of the Muslim woman to make. … This should be a personal choice. The objection I have, which is very intense, is to the fact that the question of women’s choice is removed from this."
- Qanta Ahmed
Segment 2: On the Runway
At the age of 16, Cheryl Diamond, Model: A Memoir took her perfectly proportioned self to New York City to become a high-fashion model. She takes us behind the scenes of the sometimes ugly business of modeling.
May 2010
Week of May 30, 2010
Segment 1: When Afghanistan Became the "Other War"
While the bloodshed intensified in Iraq in 2005, attention and resources shifted away from the war in Afghanistan. It became the "other war." With America pre-occupied in Iraq, the Taliban were able to make significant gains in Afghanistan. Ronald Neumann, The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan, reflects on his time as US Ambassador there and the prognosis for success or failure in the future.
Segment 2: A Primer on the Middle East
David Aikman, The Mirage of Peace: Understanding the Never-Ending Conflict in the Middle East was the Jerusalem bureau chief for Time magazine. He's written a primer on the history and major players of the Middle East.
Week of May 23, 2010
Memorial Day Special
America's Elite Forces
Today's military must protect the sea-lanes, provide disaster relief, contend with the military rise of China, fight the war in Iraq, and craft contingency plans for war with North Korea and Iran, among other responsibilities. Given unprecedented access, Robert Kaplan, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts: The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground spent time embedded with elite military missions all over the world.
"The military has evolved into a separate caste that the public knows very little about. So because it knows very little about it, it's suspicious of it on one hand, but holds it in awe on the other hand. And this is a very uncomfortable relationship. ... Upper middle class democracies that are very prosperous lose a fighting spirit because they have more to risk."
- Robert Kaplan
The Few and the Brave
Alex Kershaw, The Few: The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Fight in the Battle of Britain, describes the American pilots who joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and fought in the greatest air battle recorded in history. These pilots fought to save Britain and influenced the outcome of World War II.
Week of May 16, 2010
Life Under Israeli Occupation
In one of the most volatile areas of the world, emotions run high on both sides of the issue. In this show, we bring you a reality check. Saree Makdisi, Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation describes everyday life of Palestinians living under occupation. He then explains why he thinks a one-state solution is best.
"How can the Israelis have seriously meant to end the occupation and allow the formation of an independent Palestinian state when at the same time they were, and they continue, to actively settle the territory with their own population?"
- Saree Makdisi
The Bizarre Inner Workings of the Israeli Government
Gregory Levey, Shut Up I'm Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government was a Canadian law student living in New York. Through a bizarre series of events he ended up working for the Israeli mission of the UN, then in the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem.
Week of May 9, 2010 - Graduation Special
Earn What You're Worth
Career expert Nicole Williams, Earn What You're Worth: A Wildly Sophisticated Approach to Investing in Your Career and Yourself is the founder and CEO of Wildly Sophisticated Media. She offers young women a fresh look at the their worth in the marketplace. She explains how to assess your tangible and intangible assets and put it all together to finally earn more money. Then ...
Women in the Workplace
Many women who were brought up to be "nice girls" find themselves over-looked when it's time for promotions. Career coach Lois P. Frankel, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers identifies many mistakes women make in the office that are holding them back.
MG Show commentator Victoria Zackheim reviews Connie May Fowler's novel, "How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly."
Week of May 2, 2010 - Mother's Day Special
Segment 1: Stories of Separation and Healing (Part 1)
The relationship between mothers and daughters is one often fraught with both pain and tenderness. This is the story of two of those relationships. The first is June Cross, Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away. She is an award winning journalist and former TV producer. In her memoir, she discusses race relations in America from the experience of a mixed race daughter, and her white mother's decision to have her raised by a black family.
Segment 2: Stories of Separation and Healing (Part 2)
Then, Devyani Saltzman, Shooting Water : A Memoir of Second Chances, Family and Filmmaking who, after her parents' divorce, chooses to live with her father. In her memoir, she describes the healing of her relationship with her mother, internationally acclaimed filmmaker Deepa Mehta, during the shooting of the controversial film, "Water."
April 2010
Week of April 25, 2010
Segment 1: Moms and Daughters
Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor, Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story is a dual memoir written in two voices. Sue is facing fifty and a desire to write fiction. Her daughter, Ann, has just graduated college and been rejected from grad school. Both women write about their travels to find themselves and each other.
"In the spirit of being good tourists and pilgrims, we all approached this Virgin Mary and we asked for the thing in the bottom of our heart. … When I actually stepped under the branches of this really beautiful tree and looked at her, what came out of my mouth was, ‘I want to be a novelist.'"
- Sue Monk Kidd
Segment 2: Sisters
Bestselling author and socio-linguist Deborah Tannen, You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives studies people's relationships through their conversations. She turns her attention to the competition and connection unique to sisters.
Week of April 18, 2010
Segment 1: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Does Islam condone and institutionalize the oppression of women? Or does it liberate and elevate them? Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel came to international fame following the shocking murder of Theo Van Gogh in Holland. She grew up in a devout Muslim family, but when she fled to Holland, she became increasingly disillusioned with Islam's treatment of women. She eventually rejected her faith and became a member of the Dutch parliament where she fought for the rights of Muslim women.
"Each and every time, after the 11th of September when I got engaged in these debates and I would say, 'please let's look at our own faith, let's reflect on it, let's change it,' my fellow Muslims would call me an infidel. And I thought it’s just high time to accept that as a title."
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Segment 2: Women and Islam
But, Asma Barlas, Professor of Politics at Ithaca College in New York says that the Koran could and should be interpreted and Islam practiced in a way that creates equality between the sexes.
Week of April 11, 2010
Segment 1: Mind and Body Enhancements
Washington Post reporter Joel Garreau, Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- And What it Means to be Human takes a look at new innovations in genetics, robotics and information and nanotechnologies. He asks - what happens to human nature when advances in technologies make it possible to no longer feel pain, to live for hundreds of years, or other things that scientists are working on?
Segment 2: Juveniles in Adult Prisons
Leslie Neale, director of the documentary film Juvies
What happens to kids when they are tried and incarcerated as adults? What are their home lives like? This new documentary film follows 12 kids, with crimes ranging from murder to assault, in the adult criminal justice system.
Week of April 4, 2010
Segment 1: Thoughts on Faith
A best selling author, Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith took a, what she calls "erratic" path to Christianity. For her, laughter is "carbonated holiness" which she amply uses to express the frailty of the human condition and the grace that gets her through it.
"I don't have an interesting doctrine, I don't have an interesting theology. ... I don't understand the triune nature of God or who shot the Holy Ghost. But I have a relationship with Jesus. And the left-wing, progressive activists of Christianity is where I've cast my lot."
- Anne Lamott
Segment 2: Becoming Orthodox
Then, Peter Gillquist, Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith was a devout evangelical Protestant. But when he began searching for the ancient Christian faith, he was astonished to find it alive and well in the Orthodox church.
March 2010
Week of March 28, 2010
Easter Special - The Monastic Life
Segment 1: Reality TV - "The Monastery"
The BBC television series "The Monastery" involved five non-monks living the monastic life for forty days while TV cameras tracked their progress. It was a surprise hit in the UK. The series host, Abbot Christopher Jamison, Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life says that although the rule of St. Benedict was written 1,500 years ago, its wisdom is still applicable to modern issues and troubles.
"[The program] really had a very big impact. ... I think that it struck a chord that life today has become so manic, so busy, so preoccupied with everything that's unimportant. And yet people have been convinced that they have to be preoccupied with the unimportant."
- Christopher Jamison
Segment 2: An American Monk in Egypt
An American monk and anthropologist, Father Mark Gruber, Journey Back to Eden: My Life and Times Among the Desert Fathers spent a year in Egypt's deserts studying Coptic Christian monasticism for his doctoral dissertation. His research became more of a pilgrimage as he was deeply moved and affected by the intense spirituality of the monks and Christians of Egypt.
Week of March 21, 2010
Segment 1: Mobster Dad
Jennifer Mascia, Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir was the only child of a loving couple. It was only when her father was on his deathbed that she learned his dark secret. He spent 12 years in prison for murder, then murdered several others after his parole.
"There’s a separation there. And, it’s hard for me to judge the father who raised me and reconcile that person with the one that did these terrible things."
- Jennifer Mascia
Segment 2: Red Scare
Mike O'Connor, Crisis, Pursued by Disaster, Followed Closely by Catastrophe: A Memoir of Life on the Run spent most of his childhood never knowing why the family would suddenly have to flee into Mexico. O'Connor is an award-winning investigative journalist. He turns his reporting skills to investigate his parents and what kept them on the run throughout their lives.
Week of March 14, 2010
St. Patrick's Day Special
Segment 1: Irish Music on a Mission
Two musicians, both Irish, both working for peace and social justice. OK, their music is a bit different. Tommy Sands, Irish singer, songwriter and social activist grew up on a farm in Northern Ireland. At his house Catholics and Protestants would come to enjoy music, dancing and all around fun. He learned early on the power of music to bring people together and to heal. As one of the premier voices of Irish Folk music, he has been on the forefront of encouraging peace talks in Northern Ireland and has even helped American juvenile prisoners write their life stories in a song.
"We couldn’t find words to describe or express our feelings at that time. Nobody knew what to say … Words on the wings of music can seep deeper and soar higher and express hurt and pain inside much better."
- Tommy Sands
Segment 2: U2's Bono
Then, Michka Assayas, Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas is a music journalist based in Paris. He sat down with U2's lead singer and discussed his family, music, religion and activism.
Week of March 7, 2010
Segment 1: The Mystery of Sleeping Sickness
It's believed that Sleeping Sickness or Encephalitis Lethargica was the inspiration for stories like Sleeping Beauty and Rip Van Winkle. When it appeared in epidemic form around the time of WWI, 5 million people were afflicted. A third of them died, and a third became permanently disabled. There is no cure or treatment. Molly Caldwell Crosby, Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries tells the stories of the victims and the doctors that tried to defeat the disease.
"If there is a real connection to flu; if we see another avian flu, or another extremely virulent flu strain, that we might see this come back as well."
- Molly Caldwell Crosby
Segment 2: Water - Our Most Precious Natural Resource
Unlike other precious resources, fresh water cannot be replaced. Without it, we die. Author and journalist Steven Solomon, Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization describes the challenges some parts of the world face as fresh water becomes scarce.
MG Show commentator Victoria Zackheim reviews Jane Gardam's novel, "The Man in the Wooden Hat."
February 2010
Week of February 21, 2010
Segment 1: One Small Step for Man - One Giant Leap for Mankind
Ever since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the United States was losing the Space Race against the Soviets. Then, in 1963, President Kennedy announced that we would land a man on the moon within the decade. Author Craig Nelson, Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon tells the story of the people behind mankind's greatest technological achievement. Then ...
"Here men from the planet earth first set foot upon the moon, July, 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."
- Plaque left on the moon by the crew of Apollo 11
Segment 2: Voices from the Moon
Andrew Chaikin, Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences spent eight years interviewing the astronauts of the Apollo program. He discusses the candid and deeply personal reflections on these men who have been at the edge of human experience.
Week of February 21, 2010:
Segment 1: A God Who Hates
When Syrian-American author Wafa Sultan, A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam appeared on the Arabic TV network Al Jazeera, she turned some heads. The segment was translated to English and went viral on the internet. It was viewed by over a million people. Then ...
"My problem is with Islam, it’s not with Muslims. It’s with the religion itself, not with the followers. Because I believe 95% if not more of Muslims don’t know the deepness of their religion.."
- Wafa Sultan
Segment 2: The City of Jerusalem
The world's three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all converge on one city - Jerusalem. A documentary film hosted by The Newshour's Ray Suarez, Jerusalem: Center of the World describes the rich history and religious and political significance of this incredible city.
Week of February 14, 2010:
Valentine's Day Special
Segment 1: Men and Women Under Stress
Frank Sinatra sang that love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage, but its just not that easy. John Gray, Why Mars & Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress is the psychologist that first introduced the idea that men and women are from "different planets." In this latest book he shows how we can reduce stress in our relationships.
"Almost every couple I counsel or coach, they’ll start talking about their problems. And the first thing I focus on is helping them realize that this is not about your partner, its not even about you – its about the effects of stress on you and on your partner."
- John Gray
Segment 2: A History of Marriage
The fact that marriage is now based on love between two people is a relatively recent phenomenon. Stephanie Coontz, Marriage A History: From Obedience to Intimacy Or How Love Conquered Marriage explains how marriage has evolved over history and the dramatic changes it has gone through.
Week of February 7, 2010
Segment 1: Restoring Fiscal Responsibility in America
As comptroller general of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), David Walker, Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility warns of the structural problems in the American economy and offers practical, non-partisan solutions to turn it around.
"So how did we get from the world’s largest creditor nation to the world’s largest debtor nation? Well, we lost our way. We strayed from a number of the principles and values that made us great."
- David Walker
Segment 2: A Forecast for the Next 100 Years
George Friedman, The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century is the Chief Intelligence Officer and founder of Strategic Forecasting, Inc. (Stratfor), a private intelligence agency whose clients include foreign government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. He offers an unexpected view of the geopolitics of the next hundred years.
January 2010
Week of January 31, 2010
Segment 1: The Doyenne of Etiquette on Dignified Weddings
Today's brides are bombarded with advice on how to have the "perfect" wedding, mostly through selfishness and greed. But Miss Manners and her recently wed daughter, Judith Martin and Jacobina Martin, Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding set the record straight on wedding etiquette.
"What’s the polite way to tell people at a wedding that you want money? Well, the polite way to ask people for money is to sit on the ground and put a hat upside next to you and hope that they give you money."
- Judith Martin aka Miss Manners
Segment 2: Business Lessons from Mom
After failing at twenty-two other jobs, Barbara Corcoran, Use What You've Got, and Other Business Lessons I Learned from My Mom borrowed money, quit her job as a diner waitress, and started a tiny real estate business in New York City. Today, the Corcoran group is one of New York's premier real estate companies.
Week of January 24, 2010
Segment 1: Just Some Good Ol' Boys
Two very unlikely Congressmen with colorful pasts: As Cooter in the popular TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, Ben Jones, Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of "Crazy Cooter" grew up in the hills of Virginia. He battled alcoholism and became a successful actor, then a two-term congressmen. www.cootersplace.com
"There’s a disconnect between the people who make television shows – in Los Angeles and New York and those kind of sensibilities and tastes and all that hot, young, what’s new, edgy stuff, and the folks out in the heartland of America who have to watch that crap."
- "Crazy Cooter"
Segment 2: From Welfare to Washington
As a child, James E. Rogan, Rough Edges: My Unlikely Road from Welfare to Washington dreamed of going to Congress. He eventually achieved his dream, but on the way had a few bumps on the road. As the illegitimate son of a cocktail waitress and bartender, he was initially raised by his grandparents in San Francisco's hardscrabble neighborhoods. As a young man, he bartended at biker bars and strip joints to pay for law school.
Week of January 17, 2010
Segment 1: National Geographic Photographer
One of National Geographic's first female photographers, Annie Griffiths Belt, A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel: My Journey in Photographs discusses her travels to remote areas of the globe, often with her two kids in tow. Then ...
Segment 2: Looking for Trouble
Ralph Peters, Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World, has been a lifelong traveler, in and out of uniform. He has experience in 70 countries on six continents, and has a talent for spotting (and enjoying) crises.
Week of January 10, 2010
Segment 1: William Shakespeare
Michael Wood, Shakespeare
Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood turns his attention to William Shakespeare, said to be the greatest writer of the English language. Equipped with archives and newly discovered evidence, Wood takes us back to 16th century England. He investigates Shakespeare's family, and social history, and reveals little-known sources of inspiration that reflect Shakespeare's attitudes on sex, race and class. Then ...
Segment 2: The Women of Georgetown
C. David Heymann, The Georgetown Ladies Social Club: Power, Politics and Passion in the Nation's Capital
Katherine Graham, Evangeline Bruce, Lorraine Cooper, Pamela Harriman and Sally Quinn all had one thing in common: They all wielded enormous political power through the social gatherings they could summon. In his bestselling book, David Heymann details the politics and personalities of five influential women and their huge impact on the US political scene.
Week of January 3, 2010
Segment 1: Radical Conversion
What causes people to change their beliefs and lifestyles so radically and sometimes so suddenly? Brian "Head" Welch, Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story was a hard-partying, drug addicted rock star. As Korn's lead guitarist, he had every material comfort he could imagine. But in 2005, he walked away from all of it to become a Christian. He's never looked back.
I just think that God places things inside of us that only He can fill. I believe that. I just thought that I was going to have this satisfaction when I got that dream. And when I got it, I didn’t have that satisfaction. And it didn’t make sense to me."
- Brian "Head" Welch
Segment 2: No Impact Man
Colin Beavan, No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process became frustrated with waiting for legislators and corporations to make changes to save the environment. So, he decided to make some radical changes himself. He and his family are spending one year making no net impact on the environment.
Back to Top
The Mimi Geerges Show • P.O.
Box 267 • Oakton, Virginia 22124
|
