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DUE
TO THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, OUR SCHEDULE HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO
CONSTANT CHANGE. EXTENSION 720 IS DEDICATED TO PROVIDING FULL AND WIDE-RANGING
COVERAGE OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM. PROGRAMMING WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE
ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. ALTHOUGH WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN OUR REGULAR SCHEDULE
IN THE COMING WEEKS, DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEWS WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY.
CONTINUE TO CHECK THIS WEBSITE FOR FURTHER UPDATES.
October 2001 Shows
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MONDAY OCTOBER
1ST
EVENTS IN THE NEWS: THE WAR ON TERRORISM
The Economist referred to September 11, 2001 as, simply, "The Day
the World Changed." The horrific shock of the terrorist attacks continues
to loom over our daily lives. Tonight, we will take another look at what
needs to be done. Some kind of military response seems inevitable; economic
and political pressure on the perpetrators and their sponsors is ongoing.
Our in-studio guests will be veteran Washington observer MORTON KONDRACKE
of Roll Call magazine and Fox News Channel and MARSHALL BOUTON, the President
of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.
Click
here for the text of General Barry McCaffrey's remarks at West Point,
read by Milt on the air this evening.
TUESDAY OCTOBER
2ND
Recently recorded interviews will follow the 7:05pm Cubs game, the last
night game scheduled this season.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3RD
CATHOLICISM AND ITS FUTURE
 In
1999, the release of JOHN CORNWELL's book 'Hitler's Pope' intensified
a fierce intellectual and religious debate on the modern history of Catholicism
and the role of the Vatican in the twentieth century. Cornwell continues
his look at the Catholic Church with a new book BREAKING
FAITH: THE POPE, THE PEOPLE, AND THE FATE OF CATHOLICISM. He critically
reviews the papacy of John Paul II, addresses its legacy, and ponders
the future of the church, with his own conclusions and recommendations.
We debate the future of Catholicism, tonight at 9:00pm.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 4TH
BOOK REVIEW SHOW
Another edition of our quarterly book review program is upon us. Milt
has challenged our regular panelists ALAN GITELSON, PENELOPE MESIC, and
DAN TUCKER with a wide array of recent works in history, biography, science,
religious studies, and the arts, plus several works of fiction. John Ruskin
wrote: "All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour,
and the books of all time." We'll see if any of tonight's choices reach
into the latter category or if our discussion becomes, to paraphrase Logan
Pearsall Smith, "the gilded tomb of mediocre talent."
FRIDAY OCTOBER 5TH
BBC SIMULCAST ON TERRORISM
We continue our look at the war on terrorism with another BBC 5 'Up All
Night' simulcast from London. Check back to this site for further details
as we develop a roster of American strategic experts ready to answer questions
from the U.S. and the U.K..
MONDAY OCTOBER 8TH
PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA
As Christopher Columbus approached the Americas in October 1492, the ship's
journal noted, "it was useless to complain, he had come to go to the Indies,
and so had to continue until he found them, with the help of Our Lord."
Five hundred and nine years later, on this Columbus Day observance, we
look not at the great explorer but instead at this hemisphere before his
famous journey: its native cultures, its unique ecology, its history in
the century that led up to 1492. Our guests will include GARY FEINMAN,
director of the anthropology department at the Field Museum, and JAMES
BROWN of Northwestern University.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 9TH
CHICAGO CRIME
 Chicago
is famous for its magnificent location on Lake Michigan, its towering
skyscrapers, its well-oiled political machine, its jazz music, and its
broad-shouldered citizenry. Equally renowned is the lamentable catalog
of Chicago crime. Names like Al Capone, John Dillinger, Sam Giancana and
countless others line the pages of twentieth century criminal history.
Tonight, we look at the always colorful history of our fair city's darker
side. Our guests include WGN's own RICK KOGAN and leading Chicago Tribune
criminal justice reporter MAURICE POSSLEY, who have co-written a new chapter
in the annals of Chicago crime EVERYBODY
PAYS: TWO MEN, ONE MURDER, AND THE PRICE OF TRUTH.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 10TH
RICHARD REEVES AND RICHARD NIXON
 We
continue our crisis coverage tonight with the esteemed Washington columnist
RICHARD REEVES. Reeves has been following international politics throughout
his career and reported from throughout the world-including the current
hotspots in Central and South Asia. He has written on every president
since the 1950s, including full-scale presidential biographies of John
F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, and works on Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
His latest book PRESIDENT
NIXON: ALONE IN THE WHITE HOUSE looks at the enigmatic, often brilliant,
and always controversial presidency of Richard Nixon, who was certainly
no stranger to crises during his years in the Oval Office. Reeves will
draw on his many years of experience and keen Washington eye to discuss
the ongoing war on terrorism, from both current and historical perspectives.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 11TH
AIDS UPDATE
Since the dreaded scourge of AIDS gathered momentum in the 1980s and early
1990s, news has been somewhat mixed. Preventive care and education has
slowed the spread of the disease in the wealthier nations. New treatments
have lengthened the lives of the afflicted and raised hopes for potential
containment. Childhood cases have decreased. Yet in other areas, the situation
remains quite grim. No cure has been found as the disease continues to
destroy many thousands of lives every year. In Africa, a true AIDS epidemic
haunts millions on that continent and threatens to spread far beyond its
borders. Tonight, we provide an update on AIDS: its background, the current
state of AIDS research, and prospects for the near and distant future.
Join us at 9:00pm with three experts, including Dr. JAN ENGLUND of the
University of Chicago Medical Center and FRANK PALELLA of Northwestern
University.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 12TH
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
 "Outlined
against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again…." Grantland
Rice's famous column on Notre Dame's 1924 backfield epitomized the early
era of college football and opens RICHARD WHITTINGHAM's new volume, RITES
OF AUTUMN: THE STORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL. From the Galloping Ghost
to Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, from Knute Rockne to Bear Bryant, from
one "Game of the Century" to the next, college football has produced some
of the most colorful, thrilling, and emotional moments in the history
of sport. It has also, for better or worse, helped to shape modern American
higher education. Mr. Whittingham and others join us at 9:00pm tonight
for the history of college football and its substantial impact on life
in the United States.
MONDAY OCTOBER 15TH
GREAT POWER POLITICS
 What
motivates great powers in the conduct of international affairs? According
to JOHN MEARSHEIMER, Professor of Political Science at the University
of Chicago, it can be summed up in one word: security. His thoughts are
detailed in a new book THE
TRAGEDY OF GREAT POWER POLITICS. Mearsheimer's theory of "offensive
realism" predicts that in an anarchic world (i.e. a world with no overarching
authority), states are forced to compete for their own security. The inherent
tendency of states to grab for power, and to increase their own power
at the expense of others, leads to war-and, according to Mearsheimer,
nothing has arisen to change the dreadful likelihood of future great power
wars, despite utopian talk of "the end of history" or "democratic peace
theory." He also has sharp views on the current crisis and will no doubt
lay out his analysis in full tonight.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 16TH
DICTIONARIES
 Samuel
Johnson once said, "Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer
can only hope to escape reproach." Despite this sentiment, Extension 720
offers high praise to our guests, among them some distinguished dictionary
compilers. Our evening is marked by the publication of THE
NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY, widely recognized as the definitive
American language resource. ERIN McKEAN, a senior staff editor of that
volume, is among our panelists, whose work Johnson described with the
following simple description: to make dictionaries is dull work. Not so.
We transform dullness into exhilaration tonight at 9:00pm.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 17TH
DAVID HALBERSTAM
 As
America embarks on what President Bush describes as "the first war of
the twenty-first century," Extension 720 welcomes one of the most acute
observers of American wars over the last forty years, DAVID HALBERSTAM.
His latest book, in many ways a follow up to "The Best and the Brightest,"
his volume on U.S. decision-making in Vietnam, looks at military politics
in the 1990s. WAR
IN A TIME OF PEACE: BUSH, CLINTON, AND THE GENERALS details American
security and defense policy in the post-Cold War world. For obvious reasons,
such a topic has great relevance to the current situation. Halberstam
joins us for two hours, beginning at 9:00pm.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 18TH
THE VALUE OF ARCHITECTURE
The twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit for a reason:
they represented progress, free trade, and prosperity. Indeed, the towers
came to be regarded as the gateway to New York and the United States,
a trademark of American architecture. In this respect, architecture has
meaning: buildings are not erected merely for the practical use; they
have symbolic weight and may engender any range of emotion, from intense
pride to extreme hatred. BLAIR KAMIN, the architecture critic at the Chicago
Tribune, realizes both the physical and the psychological value of architecture.
His new book WHY
ARCHITECTURE MATTERS will form the basis of our discussion tonight.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 19TH
WORD COURT
 Oyez,
Oyez, Oyez! BARBARA WALLRAFF's word court is in session. All ye abusers
of the English language, beware! Wallraff, a columnist for The Atlantic
Monthly, has published a book of her well-known writings WORD
COURT: WHEREIN VERBAL VIRTUE IS REWARDED, CRIMES AGAINST THE LANGUAGE
ARE PUNISHED, AND POETIC JUSTICE IS DONE. Those of virtue will be
rewarded at 9:00pm tonight.
MONDAY OCTOBER 22ND
RELIGION NEWS REVIEW
Although recent events seem to have been dominated by politics, economics,
and security, the issue of religion has in fact been front and center:
the clash of religions in the Middle East; religious fanaticism as a root
of terrorism; religious responses to the tragedy of September 11; and
the future of religion in a changed world. Tonight, we hold a Religion
News Review roundtable. Our guests will be JIM WALL, editor of Christian
Century magazine, MARK GALLI, managing editor of Christianity Today, and
JOSEPH AARON, editor of The Chicago Jewish News.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 23RD
THE WAR ON TERRORISM
Our coverage of the current war continues. Tonight, we focus specifically
on the ongoing air operations and the prospect for further military action,
including possible use of ground forces or small insertion teams as the
Afghan winter fast approaches. Our in-studio guests will be RICHARD FRIEDMAN,
chairman of the National Strategy Forum, and DANIEL PIPES of the Philadelphia-based
MIDDLE EAST FORUM. Distinguished military historian DONALD KAGAN will
also join the discussion from Yale University.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24TH
GORILLAS
 As
conservationists and co-founders of the Mountain Gorilla Project, BILL
WEBER and AMY VEDDER have devoted their lives to researching the world
of gorillas. Arriving in Rwanda in 1978, the husband-and-wife team has
conducted groundbreaking research on gorilla behavior and their environment,
and pushed forward the cause of conservation. Sadly, they have also witnessed
unspeakable human behavior, in the form of ruthless poaching and, in 1994,
civil war and genocide.
IN THE KINGDOM OF GORILLAS: FRAGILE SPECIES IN A DANGEROUS LAND recounts
their years in the mountains and jungles of Rwanda, a beautiful and terribly
tragic place. They join us tonight at 9:00pm to tell their story.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 25TH
JACK WELCH AND MORE
 When
JACK WELCH took his post as CEO of General Electric in 1981, the value
of the corporation stood at less than $20B, a shadow of its once-great
influence. By the time he left on September 8 of this year, GE's worth
stood at over $400B, the most valuable company in the world. Trader Jack's
legendary management style has been a model for CEOs and business leaders
around the world. His new memoir JACK:
STRAIGHT FROM THE GUT details his story and explains the seemingly
simple reasons for his success. This tape will head tonight's line-up
of recent, never-before-heard interviews.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 26TH
INTELLECTUALS
 Dwight
Eisenhower once said, "An intellectual is a man who takes more words than
he needs to say more than he knows." Despite their benign reputation,
intellectuals have in fact been at the forefront of the most horrific
political movements of the twentieth century. MARK LILLA, a Professor
at the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, documents
the prominent examples of intellectualism gone wrong, with portraits of
brilliant but misguided philosophers from Martin Heidegger and Carl Schmitt
to Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. His new book THE
RECKLESS MIND: INTELLECTUALS IN POLITICS examines their role in twentieth
century political thought and their terrible mistakes in judgement.
MONDAY OCTOBER 29TH
THE STATE OF AMERICAN TELEVISION
Tonight we look at the current state of TV, with STEVE JOHNSON of The
Chicago Tribune and PHIL ROSENTHAL of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Of particular interest will be our guests' appraisal of the industry in
the wake of September 11th and their analysis of the media's ongoing crisis
coverage. Join us at 9:00pm.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 30TH
HAYNES JOHNSON
 In
many respects, the 1990s will, from now on, be viewed as an era "before
the war." HAYNES JOHNSON joins us tonight with another perspective
on the terrorist attacks of September 11. Johnson, a Washington veteran
who previously wrote on the Reagan era, has a new volume THE
BEST OF TIMES: AMERICA IN THE CLINTON YEARS. Now, many of its "big"
events, from the Simpson Trial and the new economy to the impeachment
of the president and the 2000 Election, seem overshadowed by our current
crisis. Johnson joins us tonight for a look back at the decade leading
toward September 11, and analyses the latest developments in the news
from that framework.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 31ST
This program remains under construction. Check back to wgnradio.com for
details.
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