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July 2001 Shows
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MONDAY 2ND JULY
NANOTECHNOLOGY
At Extension
720, we usually try to think big. Tonight, we will think extremely small.
The prefix "nano" denotes one-billionth--nanotechnology is the science
of, yes, the very tiny. Our electron microscopes will focus on recent
developments in the field that explores the infinitesimal in order to
explain and aid the whole of science. Our guests include CHAD MIRKIN of
Northwestern University’s Center for Nanotechnology and MILAN MRKSICH
of the University of Chicago.
TUESDAY 3RD JULY
Recently recorded interviews will follow the 6:05pm ballgame. Our
recent guests include RONALD SPECTOR on twentieth century naval warfare,
EUGENE KENNEDY on the Catholic Church, ERNA PARIS on history and memory,
JON KALB on adventures in the bone trade, RABBI DAVID ROSEN on interreligious
dialogue, BENSON BOBRICK on the history of the English Bible, MICHAEL
KLARE on the future of international conflict, and much more. Join us
tonight.
WEDNESDAY 4TH JULY
GIVE ME LIBERTY!
A SIMULCAST WITH THE BBC
Few have seemed to notice, but this is the 225th anniversary
year of the Declaration of Independence. To celebrate on this holiday,
we will revisit Revolutionary America, the war, the politics of the era--and
see what the British have to say about all of this. Join us for a special
broadcast with the London BBC program "Up All Night". Our in-studio guests
will be JOHN KAMINSKI of the University of Wisconsin and SHELDON COHEN
of Loyola University; our out-of-studio guests will be our patriotic listeners,
our British cousins, and "Up All Night" host RHOD
SHARP.
THURSDAY 5TH JULY
ESPIONAGE
The case of Robert Hansson brought Cold War-type espionage back to the
front pages. Revelations that Hansson had, for more than fifteen years,
sold secrets to the Soviet Union and Russia, rekindled the cloak and dagger
days of Cold War spooks. Tonight, we will revisit the long era of East-West
espionage and beyond, and also attempt to unravel the current state of
intelligence affairs. Our guests will be WILLIAM DUFF, former FBI counterintelligence
officer and author of A
TIME FOR SPIES: THEODORE STEPHANOVICH MALLY AND THE ERA OF THE GREAT ILLEGALS,
and TOM MOCKAITIS, Chairman of the Department of History at Depaul University
and an expert in the unconventional conflicts of the Cold War.
FRIDAY 6TH JULY
THE HOT DOG: A HISTORY
Bismarck reportedly remarked that one should never observe the making
of sausage and legislation. Despite this recommendation, we will tonight
look closely at sausage: specifically, the history of the hot dog and
sausage in American life. So stay tuned with your frankfurter after the
6:05pm game, and join BRUCE KRAIG, a food historian who has written a
book on hot dogs, and BOB SCHWARTZ of the Vienna Beef Company, for an
amusing discussion of "sausage through the ages."
MONDAY 9TH JULY
THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN CLONING
At one point, human cloning seemed the epitome of pseudoscience, a
fantasy spread by novelists and science fiction buffs, and espoused by
radical racial theorists dreaming of perfect men and unconquerable armies.
A disturbing thought, to be sure, but hardly to be taken seriously. The
cloning in Britain of the sheep Dolly, however, suddenly made human cloning
seem not only feasible, but near. Tonight, we will examine the feasibility,
consequences, moral issues, and long-term outlook on human cloning with
an expert on the subject, LEON KASS, M.D. of the University of Chicago.
TUESDAY 10TH JULY
CHICAGO METROPOLIS 2020
 We
peer into the future of Chicago tonight. Chicago Metropolis 2020
is an organization of Chicago businesspeople and officials studying the
city of tomorrow, and proposing the adjustments needed to maintain Chicago
as the mecca of the midwest and city of the broad shoulders. Our guests
include ELMER JOHNSON, author of a book titled CHICAGO
METROPOLIS 2020: THE CHICAGO PLAN FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, FRANK
BEAL, the executive director of the project, and PAUL GREEN, expert on
everything Chicago.
WEDNESDAY 11TH
JULY
LEFT VS. RIGHT
In The Cynic’s Word Book, Ambrose Bierce defined a Conservative
as "a statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from
the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others." Tonight,
both sides will get a chance to defend their case. We’ve assembled two
teams, one on the left, the other on the right, to discuss American politics
and problems from an ideological point of view. On the left will be PETER
GIANGRECO, a longtime activist and consultant in the Democratic Party,
and MATT ROTHSCHILD, editor of The Progressive. On the right will be JOE
MORRIS, a Chicago attorney and former member of the Reagan administration,
and legal researcher MARK MC GUIRE, a staunch Republican activist. Join
us for a lively debate.
THURSDAY 12TH JULY
RESTAURANT REVIEW
According to Frederic Raphael, "Great restaurants are, of course,
nothing but mouth-brothels. There is no point in going to them if one
intends to keep one’s belt-buckled." Tonight, we'll try to maintain our
composure as we look at the latest in fine dining around Chicago and elsewhere.
Our guests include roving restaurant critics DON ROSE and AMY LA BAN.
FRIDAY 13TH JULY
MILT’S MUSIC
Samuel Johnson referred to music as "the only sensual pleasure without
vice." Since we at WGN try to avoid vice (do the Cubs count?), we will
innocently satisfy our sensual needs with an evening of widely varied
music. Milt appears alone tonight to highlight some of his favorite pieces,
in all genres.
For tonight's playlist, click
here.
MONDAY 16TH JULY
Taped interviews will follow the 7:05pm interleague game between the
Cubs and Kansas City Royals.
TUESDAY 17TH JULY
THE ANNALS OF COMMUNISM featuring JONATHAN BRENT, general editor of the
Yale University Press series, and RONALD RADOSH, co-editor of the newest
volume, SPAIN
BETRAYED, has been rescheduled for August 6th. Tonight:
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
On Bastille Day + 3, we look back at the French Revolution with historians
DAVID JORDAN of UIC and JOHN LYNN of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. We
examine the Revolution's roots and the enormity of its subsequent impact
on Europe and the world, even if Louis XVI wrote only "nothing"
in his diary entry for July 14, 1789.
WEDNESDAY 18TH
JULY
THE ICEMAN COMETH? A LOOK AT GENETIC ANCESTRY
 In
1994, BRYAN SYKES made an astonishing discovery: the "Iceman" discovered
in the Italian Alps by two skiers shared DNA with one of his own colleagues.
After further research, Sykes, a Professor of Human Genetics at Oxford
University, came up with a stunning revelation: all people of European
descent, he concluded, share DNA with seven female archtypes, traceable
even now to a specific clan in Africa. Professor Sykes is our guest tonight
as he reveals these "women"--Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Katrine, Tara, Velda,
and Jasmine, each named for the genetic code letter they represent. We
will pursue this controversial theory of human origins, the subject of
Sykes’new book THE
SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE, after the ballgame tonight.
THURSDAY 19TH JULY
TECHNOGADGETS
Former WGN Radio host ED CURRAN now runs www.technogadgets.com
and is one of the most knowledgable technogadget observers in Chicago.
Tonight, he joins us after the 6:05 game to reveal the latest in technological
toys, both fun and practical. So grab your robotic puppy, teach him to
sit down, and enjoy tonight's program.
FRIDAY 20TH
JULY
Taped interviews will follow the 7:05pm ballgame in Houston.
MONDAY 23RD JULY
Taped interviews will follow the 7:05pm ballgame in Houston.
TUESDAY 24TH JULY
A recently recorded interview will follow the 7:05pm ballgame in Pittsburgh.
WEDNESDAY 25TH
JULY
STOCKS AND INVESTING
The rollercoaster ride on Wall
Street over the last year doesn't phase tonight's panel. Our guests DAVID
BRADY, PAT DORSEY, and PETER ZIV, all major players in the investment
business, will offer their calming wisdom and predict the course of the
markets in the coming months. Bring your wallets in the event of another
take-off--but beware of the lurking bear.
THURSDAY 26TH JULY
BRANDS AND BUSINESS
 Henry
Ford once said "History is more or less bunk." Certainly, though, Mr.
Ford studied and learned from business history to build his great company.
Tonight, our panel is headed by NANCY KOEHN, Associate Professor at Harvard
Business School and author of BRAND
NEW: HOW ENTREPRENEURS EARNED CONSUMERS’ TRUST FROM WEDGWOOD TO DELL.
Koehn examines the history of business opportunism, examining entrepreneures
as diverse as Marshall Field, Estée Lauder, and Howard Schultz
(the founder of Starbucks for you non-coffee drinkers). We will be discussing
the impact of branding and the larger issues of how, and why, some companies
succeed and others fail.
FRIDAY 27TH JULY
STUDENT REVOLT
 What
is the legacy of the 1960s protest movement? Though the degree of its
impact can be debated, it has, for well or ill, affected our culture,
our academics, our domestic politics, our conduct of international affairs,
and far more. Tonight, we revisit the origins of ‘60s protest movements,
the motivations behind them, the disconcerting course of domestic events
throughout the Vietnam era, and try to measure the overall impact of student
revolt. KENNETH HEINEMAN, a professor of history at Ohio University, has
published a new book, PUT
YOUR BODIES UPON THE WHEELS: STUDENT REVOLT IN THE 1960S, and will
head our panel tonight. Other guests include DAVID MOBERG, Senior Editor
for In These Times magazine.
MONDAY 30TH JULY
SUMMER FILMS
So far, the summer film season has seemed a large, if not entirely
unexpected, disappointment. Critics almost unanimously bombed "Pearl Harbor",
and its studio chiefs considered it a financial disappointment. Yet Americans
still spent some $200 million to see its Hollywoodized history. Perhaps
this is a testament to the seemingly downward spiral of film quality in
the United States. However, the summer may yet hold some gems. A.I.? Planet
of the Apes? Some unknown darkhorse? Our loyal panel of PENNY MESIC, GENE
PHILIPS, and JIM TURANO will investigate--and hopefully prescribe a cure
for the Hollywood blues.
TUESDAY 31ST JULY
Extension 720 takes a seat on the bench as the Cubs travel west to
take on the San Diego Padres in a 9:05pm game.
Archive of previous show topics:
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