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March 2002 Shows
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MONDAY MARCH
4TH
THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, Part II
In November, Henry Bienen, James Stukel, and Stephen Schutt, all prominent
university or college presidents, joined us for a broad (and enthusiastic)
look at American higher education, from an administration perspective.
Tonight's discussion is a follow-up, though certainly its participants
will be less positive on the current state of the academy. Our guests
are THOMAS REEVES, a well-known historian from Milwaukee, and BOB WEISSBERG
from the University of Illinois. Both are members of the National Association
of Scholars, a group that mourns, and critiques, the continuing decline
of the American university.
TUESDAY MARCH 5TH
This program remains under construction. Please check back to wgnradio.com
for details.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 6TH
WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
ROB WARDEN is Executive Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions
at Northwestern University Law School. This week, the center is sponsoring
a conference on 'False Confessions'. Recent years have seen a number of
prominent cases involving false confessions and other examples of aborted
justice, the political consequences of which are beginning to be felt--note
Governor Ryan's suspension of the death penalty in Illinois. Warden joins
us tonight along with RICHARD OFSHE and DONALD CONNERY for an insightful
and, regrettably, disconcerting look at the American criminal justice
system.
THURSDAY MARCH 7TH
ONE FROM THE VAULT
We'll be re-airing on of our best programs from the last year-or a
selection of recently recorded interviews. Tune in at 9:00pm to hear tonight's
Hall of Fame edition of Extension 720.
FRIDAY MARCH 8TH
 THE
PRESIDENTIAL TAPES
Though relatively (and, perhaps, unfortunately) few in number, presidential
recordings continue to be a goldmine for historians. Just this week, newly
released Nixon tapes revealed that, among other things, President Nixon
contemplated the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam. TIMOTHY NAFTALI
is professor of history at the University of Virginia and director of
the Presidential Recordings Project. He joins us tonight to discuss the
recently edited Kennedy tapes, compiled in  Presidential
Recordings-John F. Kennedy : The Great Crises (Three Book Boxed Set),
and the significance of such recordings in history. Throughout, we'll
listen in on the private meetings of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and
Nixon.
MONDAY MARCH 11TH
THE RIDDLE OF El Niño
 An
old proverb reads simply, "The north wind does blow, and we shall have
snow." Perhaps an early coming of El Niño inspired the proverb. In any
case, the late-20th Century edition of El Niño brought with it devastating
consequences for the world environment. But what is it exactly, and what
forces are at work in periods of extraordinary climatological change?
J. MADELEINE NASH, former senior science writer at Time magazine, has
a new book:  El
Nino: Unlocking the Secrets of the Master Weather-Maker. Other experts
will join her for a broad discussion of climatology and how we go about
defining weather patterns.
TUESDAY MARCH 12TH
CHICAGO JAZZ ENSEMBLE
André Previn once noted that, "the way jazz is performed is always
more important that what is being played." BILL RUSSO is founder and composer
of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and our guest tonight. The CJE's American
Heritage Jazz Series is well under way, having just completed a celebration
of the music of Duke Ellington. Next in line will be Woody Herman. This
evening, however, we'll be reviewing the broad and colorful history of
Chicago jazz, and playing many clips from the great masters.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 13TH
 FOOD
POLITICS
In the year 2000, American food companies generated nearly a trillion
dollars in sales. The enormity of the influence exerted by these corporate
giants on government and society is clear and, perhaps, troubling. MARION
NESTLE, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU,
has authored a new book:  Food
Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. She
joins us tonight with some local experts to address the problem of "nutrition",
and how it is determined and influenced.
THURSDAY MARCH 14TH
 WHAT
IS LEFT OF CHRISTIANITY?
For years, RICHARD HOLLOWAY, until recently the Bishop of Edinburgh,
has been one of the most outspoken figures in the modern church. "I have
asked myself repeatedly in recent years," he has said, "whether I can
still call myself a Christian." He continues to question the meaning of
Christianity in the modern world. His latest book is  Doubts
and Loves: What Is Left of Christianity. Holloway visits Extension
720 this evening along with ROBERT FUNK, a noted religious scholar, director
of the Westar Institute and founder of its well-known "Jesus Seminar".
FRIDAY MARCH 15TH
 H.G.
WELLS: FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION
Malcolm Muggeridge once said of H.G. Wells, "I doubt whether in the
whole course of our history, any one individual has explored as many avenues,
turned over so many stones, ventured along so many culs-de-sac. Science,
history, politics, all were within his compass." Wells was the father
of science fiction, churning out such classics as The Time Machine, The
Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds. We
examine his life and work with JOHN HUNTINGTON of UIC and ANDREA LYNN
of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, whose new book is  Shadow
Lovers: The Last Affairs of H.G. Wells.
MONDAY MARCH 18TH
 BRANDS
AND BUSINESS
As creator of Nike's "Bo Knows" and "Just Do It" campaigns, and head
of marketing at StarBucks for years, SCOTT BEDBURY is one of America's
leading brand mavens and advertising gurus. Tonight, he heads our panel's
examination of the impact of branding and the larger issues of how, and
why, some companies succeed and others fail. Bedbury's recent book is
 New
Brand World: Ten Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the Twenty-First
Century.
TUESDAY MARCH 19TH
ELECTION NIGHT, 2002
WGN is devoted to election news this evening. Extension 720, accordingly,
takes the night off in deference to the hotly contested Illinois races.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 20TH
This program remains under construction. Check back to wgnradio.com
for details.
THURSDAY MARCH 21ST
THE MILTIES
It's Oscar time once again. Who's in line to carry home the coveted
gold statue? Are there any lasting gems in the bunch that may, for a change,
attain some sort of legendary status? And what was overlooked last year?
Our panel, including traditional friends GENE PHILLIPS and PENELOPE MESIC,
will cut through the overblown Hollywood hype to reveal the true classics
from 2001.
FRIDAY MARCH 22ND
MEDIA AND SOCIETY
 Graham
Green once wrote, "Media is a word that has come to mean bad journalism."
What constitutes good journalism? In an age of declining newspaper circulation,
booming cable television news, and runaway growth of internet news sites
(like the Drudge Report or even our own 'Milt's File'), questions about
accuracy, objectivity, and, quite simply, what is or is not newsworthy
continue to abound. ROBERT KAISER, associate editor of The Washington
Post, and others join us discuss the role and performance of the media,
particularly in the wake of 9/11. Kaiser has recently co-authored  News
about the News: American Journalism in Peril.
MONDAY MARCH 26TH
TUESDAY MARCH 27TH
These programs remain under construction. Check back to wgnradio.com
for details.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 27TH
Milt is off tonight as Passover begins at sundown. Tune in for some
gold from the vault.
THURSDAY MARCH 28TH
This program remains under construction. Check back to wgnradio.com
for details.
FRIDAY MARCH 29TH
The first evening Cubs game this season begins at 8:05pm. Extension
720, therefore, will take a seat on the bench tonight.
Archive of previous show topics:
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