Thursday, April 19, 2012

A Journey into Illinois: Remembering Everett Dirksen

At the time of the Illinois primary, we stopped to consider a statesman of the 20th century not too much recalled these days Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician of the Republican Party. He represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1933–1949) and U.S. Senate (1951–1969). As Senate Minority Leader for over a decade, he played a highly visible and key role in the politics of the 1960s, including helping to write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Open Housing Act of 1968, both landmarks of civil rights legislation. He was also one of the Senate’s strongest supporters of the Vietnam War. He was know as “The Wizard of Ooze” for his oratorical style. In this Journey into Illinois, we speak with Frank MaKaman of the Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin, Illinois, Dirksen’s hometown. He reminds us that Senator Dirksen was a partisan but a Republican who worked with Democrats to get things done – a bi-partisanship lacking into today’s polarized political environment. He also was one of the first political leaders to embrace the new media of television (You can imagine how different history might be if JFK debated Dirksen, not Nixon in 1960). MaKaman also briefs us on the “historical collections” (Dirksen Collection, Bob Michel Collection and Ray Lahood Collection) and “Congress in the Classroom”, and “Congress Link”, all coming out of the Dirksen. In all, why Dirksen shopld still matter. To hear the podcast, go to http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=725

A Journey into Louisiana: Poppy Tooker of Lousiana Eats on the New Orleans Roadfood Festival

This year only 11% of eligible voters participaed in the Louisiana Primary. The weather was beautiful and it was festival time so folks stayed outdoors. One of those festivals was the New Orleans Roadfood Festival. For it four blocks in the French Market were lined with dozens of top Roadfood cooks from New Orleans and all of Louisiana as well as from all across America, each offering a unique specialty. This was NOT typical and expected festival fare: it was a taste of America’s most celebrated dishes, all gathered in one place: a foodie’s dream. Many participants came from Louisiana but others came from as far away as Texas (Louie Mueller Barbecue of Taylor), Arizona (Tucson Tamale Company), and New York (Abbott’s Frozen Custard of Rochester). Portions were right-sized and priced to provide everyone a chance to taste the maximum number of great regional eats as they stroll through the French Market inhaling delicious smells that range from real Texas pit barbecue to Pecan Pie to artisan boudin sausage made by Cajun country’s most beloved butchers. There were book signings, cooking demonstrations and live music. There was even a Beignet Eating Contest. Our guest, acclaimed author and radio personality Poppy Tooker of Lousiana Eats talks about this unique event, about New Orleans and Louisiana as unique places and about the whole idea of Roadfood. http://www.neworleansroadfoodfestival.com/Events/ http://poppytooker.com/Home.html To hear the podcast go to: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=722

A Journey into Hawaii:Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America’s First Imperial Adventure

Posted by: emodel // Category: Uncategorized // 12:23 pm Travelers to Hawaii love the beaches, the scenery, the pineapples and the culture. To most visitors, America’s 50th state just grew out of a mutually beneficial relationship between the islands and the mainland. As with so much else in life, the explanation is not quite so simple. The flip side of that story — how it all looked to the native Hawaiians — is much darker. It is all found in LOST KINGDOM: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure; By Julia Flynn Siler; Atlantic Monthly Press. At the center of the story is Lili‘uokalani, the last queen of Hawai‘i. Born in 1838, she lived through the nearly complete economic transformation of the islands. Lucrative sugar plantations gradually subsumed the majority of the land, owned almost exclusively by white planters, dubbed the “Sugar Kings.” Hawai‘i became a prize in the contest between America, Britain, and France, each seeking to expand their military and commercial influence in the Pacific. In this Journey, author Julia Flynn Siler traces Hawaii’s fraught history, from Captain Cook to American annexation. At http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=720

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A Journey into Washington: The Ferries of Puget Sound

Ferries plying the waters near Seattle handle about 24 million passenger trips each year — the ferry system provides both a commuter transit service and an adventurous outing. A voyage across the Puget Sound can offer spectacular views of the Seattle skyline to the east, wooded shorelines to the west, and an ever-changing interplay of light and color created by the skies and water. Around the Sound tower the Olympics Range, the rugged Cascades, and Mount Rainier.

It helps tie together an area of otherwise inaccessible islands, and helps define a sense of region and a sense of place.

Michael Diehl lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington, a ferry ride away from Seattle. He has created a book called “Crossings: On the Ferries of Puget Sound”. It chronicles not just the experience of traveling on the ferries of the Sound, but also just what those ferries mean to the life and culture of the area.

The book weaves together factual information, images, and insights gathered during more than two years, presented in 304 pages with more than 375 original photographs.

Our guest talks about this central role for the ferries – how they matter and why.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=706

Nevada Beyond the Casino Strips

There’s more to Nevada than one-armed bandits, cheap buffets, and Elvis impersonators. From ice ages to expeditions, Paiutes to pioneers, and dams to divorce seekers, our guest has written about the various sides of the Silver State.

Richard Mereno is the former publisher of Nevada Magazine and numerous books, including “A Short History of Carson City, Nevada (University of Nevada Press, 2011). He is also a winner of the 2007 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Pen Award.

In his writings about Nevada (various books), Mereno has taken the time to discuss the various roadways and the Nevada towns that were and are inhabited. For example, his book about the Roadside History of Nevada divides into six chapters: Interstate 80 (The Emigrant Trail), Reno and the Lake Tahoe Area, US 50 (The Loneliest Road in America), US 95 and US 6 (The Silver Trails), US 93 (The Mormon Trail), and The Las Vegas Area.

In doing so, Moreno expands on all those little Nevada-shaped historical markers that line the desert highways of the state, And as one reviewer described it “recalls the hopes, dreams, faith, wins and losses of the pioneers that turned a desert wilderness into the typically rather dysfunctional Nevada experience of today”.

Says another reviewer about Moreno: “ (He) captures the best of what Nevada is all about”. He shares some of that knowledge and passion with us in this “Journey into Nevada”.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=682

Loved and Loathed in the South: Kudzu

As the political crowd turned to the South (South Carolina and Florida) for Presidential primaries, so did we.

Our topic is kudzu – something, along with BBQ and Football, frequently in the thoughts of folks in the South.

There’s so much of this fast-growing vine in the Southeastern U.S., you might think it was a native plant. Actually, it has taken a lot of hard work to help kudzu spread so widely. Now that it covers over seven million acres of the Deep South, many people consider it a pest, but kudzu is used in ways which might surprise you.

Our guest, Max Shores is a producer/director in the Center for Public Television & Radio at the University of Alabama. He also serves as adjunct faculty in the department of Telecommunication & Film. He has produced a number of documentaries about life and culture in the Southeast, including one about Kudzu, The Amazing Story of Kudzu.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=678

The Big Scrum – How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football

Just in case you missed it on the radio:

This is the intersting, never-before-fully- told story of how Theodore Roosevelt helped to save the game that would become America’s most popular sport.

In its infancy during the late nineteenth century, the game of football was still a work in progress that only remotely resembled the sport millions follow today. There was no common agreement about many of the game’s basic rules, and it was incredibly violent and extremely dangerous. An American version of rugby, this new game grew popular even as the number of casualties rose. Numerous young men were badly injured and dozens died playing football in highly publicized incidents, often at America’s top prep schools and colleges.

Objecting to the sport’s brutality, a movement of proto-Progressives led by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot tried to abolish the game. President Theodore Roosevelt, a vocal advocate of “the strenuous life” and a proponent of risk, acknowledged football’s dangers but admired its potential for building character. A longtime fan of the game who purposely recruited men with college football experience for his Rough Riders, Roosevelt fought to preserve the game’s manly essence, even as he understood the need for reform.

In 1905, he summoned the coaches of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton to the White House and urged them to act. The result was the establishment of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as well as a series of rule changes— including the advent of the forward pass—that ultimately saved football and transformed it into the quintessential American game. The Big Scrum reveals for the first time the fascinating details of this little-known story of sports history.

In this Journey into Hidden America we spoke with John J. Miller, author of “The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football.” He writes for National Review, the Wall Street Journal, and other publications. “The First Assassin,” a Civil War thriller published in 2010, is his first novel. His nonfiction books include “Our Oldest Enemy,” “A Gift of Freedom,” and “The Unmaking of Americans.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has called him “one of the best literary journalists in the country.” A native of Detroit, he lives with his family in Prince William County, Virginia.

To learn more about John J. Miller and his work, visit his website at www.HeyMiller.com

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=675

Chevy’s Heartbeat @ 100

Just in case you missed it on the radio:

In November, 2011 Chevy and parent General Motors were marking its 100th anniversary — the documents establishing Chevrolet were completed Nov. 3, 1911. Given its early uphill battles with richer Ford, and a century of other trials, many historians and analysts of the automotive industry consider it nothing short of remarkable that Chevy has survived this long,

At the time we spoke with David Kiley, Editor in Chief of AOL Autos about Chevrolet (He was recently a Left Jab guest on Jeep @ 70). The conversation is about its cars over the years, but also about its cultural impact…From “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” sung by Dinah Shore to “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” and “The Heartbeat of America” – Kiley maintains that brand Chevy is an integral part of “Brand USA”.

http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=673

Monday, February 20, 2012

Davy Crockett @ 225

In case you missed it on the radio:

David “Davy” Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) - folk-hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet “King of the Wild Frontier”. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of Alamo.

Crockett grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. (At the time of his birth, however, the surrounding area was part of the autonomous territory known as the State of Franklin). After being elected to the rank of colonel in the militia of Lawrence County, Tennessee, he was elected to the Tennessee state legislature in 1821. In 1826, Crockett was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Crockett vehemently opposed many of the policies of President Andrew Jackson, most notably the Indian Removal Act. Crockett’s opposition to Jackson’s policies led to his defeat in the 1834 elections, prompting his angry departure to Texas shortly thereafter. In early 1836, Crockett took part in the Texas Revolution and was killed at the Battle of the Alamo in March.

Crockett became famous in his own lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. After his death, he continued to be credited with brazen acts of mythical proportion. These led in the 20th century to television and movie portrayals, and he became one of the best-known American folk heroes.

A larger than life figure he once boasted, “I can run faster, walk longer, leap higher, speak better and tell more and bigger lies”.

In this Journey into Hidden America podcast, we spoke with Sally Baker of the Davy Crockett Tavern Museum about what was happening to observe the hero’s 225th birthday anniversary, and why Davy Crockett still means so much to so many (The 1950′s TV program and more).

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=670

The Old Soldier’s Reunion

In Newton, North Carolina they have been staging The Soldier’s Reunion (called the Old Soldier’s Reunion since 1930) for a long time.

In fact, the event is one of the longest running events of its kind in the United States. Almost every year since 1889, during the third week in August, veterans gather together for a week of celebration. There are only two years during which the event was not held, 1944 and 1948, due to polio outbreaks.

In this Journey into Hidden America podcast, we chat with Wayne Dillinger from Newton about the Reunion, what takes place, and why it remains such an imprtant and powerful occasion.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=668

Loving Lucy @ 100

In case you missed on the radio at the time:

Lucille Ball would have been 100 on August 6, 2011.

She was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York – the same Jamestown known as the childhood hometown of the fictitious Lucy Ricardo formerly Lucille McGillicuddy, her character on the popular I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951-1960).

Today Jamestown houses the Lucille Ball Museum and festival twice yearly, once in May and once in August

The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center is dedicated to the lives and careers of Lucy and Desi Arnaz. The museum officially opened in 1996 “to preserve and celebrate the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love and laughter”.

The Center is located just minutes from Lucy’s childhood homes in Celoron and Jamestown, and her final resting place in the family plot at Lake View Cemetery. The Center consists of the Lucy-Desi Museum, housing artifacts and memorabilia of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, with a gift shop; the Rapaport Center, consisting of the Desilu Playhouse museum, the Tropicana Room, a gift shop, and offices; and a stand-alone gift shop. The Desilu Playhouse museum contains the replicas of the original “I Love Lucy” TV sets that were created for the show’s 50th Anniversary tour, and other artifacts related to the show and its creators and co-stars; the Tropicana Room is a recreation of Rickey Ricardo’s ‘s nightclub from the show.

‘Lucy-Desi Days’ which features several events including panel discussions with those closest to Lucy and Desi. In addition, an annual celebration of Lucille Ball’s birthday is held in August.

The center is a prime tourist destination and Lucy fans from around the world come to celebrate the life and legacy of Jamestown’s favorite daughter.

In this Journey into Hidden America, We spoke about Lucy, her place in Jamestown’s heart, the Lucy-Desi Center and what they were doing at the time to mark the centennial of Lucy’s birth (Includes a comedy festival brining the likes of Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone to town).

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=666

Georgeous Grandma Day

What is A Georgeous Grandma and why is there a Georgeous Grandma Day ?

Listen to this podcast to find out for yourself.

For more you can also go to: http://www.gorgeousgrandma.com/

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=663

National Drive Thru Day

After WWII, California sunshine and a love affair with automobiles spurred the growth of roadside businesses in the Golden State catering specifically to motorists. As America’s first major drive-through hamburger chain, Jack in the Box® restaurants (founded in 1951) helped pave the way for a delicious new dining experience.

Jack in the Box helps us remember their role in this past by promoting “National Drive Thru Day”, which is now staged annually, on July 24.

In this Journey into Hidden America, we spoke with Brian Luscomb of, Jack in the Box about the origins of the drive-in, Jack in the Box’s role and what the drive-in and National Drice Thru Day are all about these days.

For more on National Drive Thru Day, see: www.jackinthebox.com

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=661

Remembering The Happy Warrior @ 100

In case you missed it on the radio at the time, here is a podcast interview recalling Hubert Humphrey at the time he would have turned 100 in 2011.

HHH served under President Lyndon Johnson. He twice served as a US Senator from Minnesota and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Americans for Democratic Action.He also served as Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1945 to 1949. Humphrey was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 1968 presidential election but lost to Richard Nixon.

But Humphrey’s impact and legacy are far bigger than those titles. As Bill Moyers once said, “While we may not remember Hubert Humphrey’s name, (his) fingerprints are all over America today”.

In this Journey into Hidden America we spoke with Norman Sherman, one time Press Secretray to Hubert Humphrey. He later edited Humphrey’s autobiography.

We discussed the man, the times he lived in and his lasting legacy.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=659

Journey into Hidden America:The Big Roads – The Untold Story of those who created the American Superhighways

Most people seem to think that the US Interstate system was devised and begun during the Eisenhower administration. It was Eisenhower who approved and began the billions dollar project but planning had begun years before, as the automobile designs improved and costs went down, and people-in-cars took to the roads.

A man-made wonder, a connective network, an economic force, a bringer of blight and sprawl and the possibility of escape—the U.S. interstate system changed the face of our country. The Big Roads (Houghton Mifflin) charts the creation of these essential American highways. From the turn-of-the-century car racing entrepreneur who spurred the citizen-led “Good Roads” movement, to the handful of driven engineers who conceived of the interstates and how they would work—years before President Eisenhower knew the plans existed—to the protests that erupted across the nation when highways reached the cities and found people unwilling to be uprooted in the name of progress, Swift follows a winding, fascinating route through twentieth-century American life.

How did we get from dirt tracks to expressways, from main streets to off-ramps, from mud to concrete and steel, in less than a century? Through decades of politics, activism, and marvels of engineering, we recognize in our highways the wanderlust, grand scale, and conflicting notions of citizenship and progress that define America.

About the guest: Earl Swift, 52, has written for a living since his teens, and in the years since has been a Fulbright fellow, PEN finalist, four-time author and five-time Pulitzer Prize nominee.

More at: http://earlswift.com/

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=653

Remembering the Civil War’s First Major Ground Battle 150 Years Later

On July 23 and 24, 2011 Prince William and Manassas, VA will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run in Gainesville, Virginia.

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia near Manassas. It was the first major land battle of the Civil War.

Just months after the start of the war at Fort Sumter, the Northern public clamored for a march against the Confederate capital of Richmond, which could bring an early end to the war. Yielding to this political pressure, unseasoned Union Army troops under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell advanced across Bull Run against the equally unseasoned Confederate Army under Brig. Gen. P.G.T. Beaugard near Manassas Junction. McDowell’s ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack against the Confederate left was not well executed by his inexperienced officers and men, but the Confederates, who had been planning to attack the Union left flank, found themselves at an initial disadvantage.

Confederate reinforcements under the command of Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle changed. A brigade of Virginians under a relatively unknown colonel from the Virginia Military Academy stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, “Stonewall Jackson”. The Confederates launched a strong counterattack and as the Union troops began withdrawing under pressure, many panicked and it turned into a rout as they frantically ran in the direction of nearby Washington, DC Both sides were sobered by the violence and casualties of the battle, and they realized that the war would potentially be much longer and bloodier than they had originally anticipated.

The Reenactment will feature living history demonstrations, speakers, art, music as well as historical commemorations from a wide range of perspectives (not just North and south). There will be activities for the entire family

Here we speak with Sharon Cavileer from the local tourism organizing group about what is planned.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=622

Don’t Know Much about History with Kenneth C. Davis

A self-made scholar who coasted through high school and never finished college, Kenneth C. Davis caught the book world by surprise when Don’t Know Much About History landed on the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for 35 consecutive weeks. With its witty, irreverent, conversational style, covering more than 500 years of American History, the book became the cornerstone in a series that has been embraced by adults, teachers, librarians and children. But, in many ways, Davis’s journey to becoming America’s teacher makes perfect sense. Only someone who loved history– but whose eyes glazed over when reading textbooks– would make it his life’s mission to change the way Americans view the subject of history – and learning, in general.

First published in 1990 and revised in 2002, DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: Anniversary Edition (Harper) will go on sale in a newly revised, updated and expanded edition on June 21. Besides including new scholarship and discoveries about our nation’s past, this newly revised edition chronicles events of the last ten years. Discussing transformative events from the George W. Bush administration to the recent financial meltdown and the Great Recession, this edition covers 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the enormous disaster of Hurricane Katrina, the controversy of same-sex marriage, the bailouts and bankruptcies of the “Great Recession,” the election of America’s first African- American President, and more. Davis also includes a new preface that describes what he calls the “Era of Broken Trust,” a period in which so many fundamental institutions failed.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=620

“The longest-running broadcaster in television and radio history”

We speak with Bob Wolff, the longest-running broadcaster in television and radio history. He is now in his ninth decade behind the microphone. The only broadcaster in history to call the play-by-play championships in four major pro sports (World Series, NFL Championship, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals), his historic calls include Don Larsen’s legendary perfect game in the 1956 World Series and the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts (known as The Greatest Game Ever Played).

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=613