November
2003 Shows
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MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 3RD
EMBEDDED IN IRAQ
Tonight on Extension 720, we discuss the Iraq war from the frontlines
with journalists who were embedded with U.S. forces. Joining us
will be KARL ZINSMEISTER, editor of American Enterprise magazine
and author of the new book 
Boots
on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for
Iraq, JAMES JANEGA of the Chicago Tribune (emboated
on the USS Constellation) and NBC 5’s PHIL ROGERS, who reported
from Kuwait City for NBC Newschannel during the war.
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 4TH
CHURCHILL THE ORATOR
Winston Churchill is known for his inspiring addresses to the
British people and the world during World War II. Tonight we will
examine the best of those wartime speeches and some of his lesser-known
oratory triumphs. Joining us in-studio will be WINSTON S. CHURCHILL,
who has just edited and selected the greatest of his grandfather’s
speeches in the new book 
Never
Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches. Be
sure not to miss what is surely to be one of Extension 720’s
“finest hours.”
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 5TH
WHEN IS WAR JUST?
The Bush administration’s decision to embark on a preemptive
war in Iraq sparked a national debate on the motivations and justifications
for war. Tonight on Extension 720 we continue that discussion
with PETER TEMES, president of the Antioch New England Graduate
School and former head of the Great Books Foundation. He is author
of the new book 
The
Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our
Time.
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 6TH
POLITICS IN AMERICA TODAY
Tonight on Extension 720 we welcome two prominent Illinois political
figures to the studio to discuss the current state of American
politics. They are Extension 720’s old friend JOE MORRIS
and former Illinois senator PAUL SIMON. Morris is a prominent
Chicago lawyer, founder of the Chicago Conservative Conference
and former head of the United Republican Fund of Illinois. Simon
represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives from
1974 to 1984 and then in the U.S. Senate from 1984 until his retirement
in 1997. He currently heads Southern Illinois University’s
Public Policy Institute and is the author of two new books: 
Our
Culture of Pandering and 
Healing
America: Values and Vision for the 21st Century.
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 7TH
THE ROARING ‘90S?
In the 1990s, the United States—and, indeed, the rest of
the world—saw an incredible economic expansion, fueled by
the seemingly limitless expansion of the dot.com companies. Though
we all long for the days with the Dow was over 10,000, Nobel prize-winning
economist JOSEPH STIGLITZ joins us tonight to discuss the downside
of that unprecedented economic boom. Stiglitz is a former chairman
of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and chief
economist at the World Bank. His latest book is 
The
Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous
Decade. Joining him in-studio will be RANDALL KROSZNER,
a professor of economics at the University of Chicago Graduate
School of Business who recently stepped down from President Bush’s
Council of Economic Advisers.
MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 10TH
THE SPARTANS AND ANCIENT GREECE
Unlike the Athenians, renowned for their democratic and philosophical
society, the Spartans were a culture centered on creating the
perfect army. Tonight on Extension, 720 we discuss the Spartans
and their important role as one of the leading city-states in
Ancient Greece and as the model of modern totalitarianism. Our
prime guest is PAUL CARTLEDGE, professor of Greek History at Cambridge
University and author of the new book 
The
Spartans. He will be joined in-studio by JONATHAN
HALL, professor of Greek History at the University of Chicago.
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 11TH
COLLEGIATE QUIZ BOWL
Tonight, Extension 720 holds its version of a subway
series as representatives from the University of Chicago and Northwestern
University college bowl teams clash in an academic showdown. Tune
in for what is surely to be a northside-southside matchup even
more exciting than Cubs-Sox games.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH
MEASURING HUMAN ACCOMPLISHMENT
Has the Western world truly dominated human achievements? Are
we currently witnessing the decline of Europe as the center of
culture in the world? Tonight on Extension 720 we explore these
questions and more with CHARLES MURRAY, author of the new book
Human
Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences,
800 B.C. to 1950. Murray is a W.H. Brady scholar at the
American Enterprise Institute and author of seven books, including
the controversial THE BELL CURVE, which he co-authored with Robert
J. Herrnstein.
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 13TH
ARE WE JUST FAKING IT?
Anatole France wrote, “Without lies, humanity would perish
of despair and boredom.” Certainly WILLIAM IAN MILLER, professor
of law at the University of Michigan, agrees that lying is an
essential part of human nature. From exaggerating on our resumes
to lying about our weight, enhancing the truth is a common phenomenon
in today’s society. But why do we lie? And why do we feel
guilty about it? Join us tonight as we discuss Miller’s
new book 
Faking
It and try to decipher why we deceive and the uses of
deception in contemporary culture.
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 14TH
A recorded edition of Extension 720 will play tonight
as Milt takes the night off. Tune in to hear Chicago author HARRY
MARK PETRAKIS discuss his new book 
Twilight
of the Ice and religion professor BART D. EHRMAN on his
book 
Lost
Christianities:The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We never
Knew.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH
THE INTELLIGENCE FAILURES OF SEPTEMBER 11TH
Just over two years after the September 11th terrorist attacks,
Extension 720 takes a close look at how those might have been
prevented by U.S. intelligence forces. Joining us will be GERALD
POSNER, author of the new book 
Why
America Slept: The Failure to Prevent 9/11.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
CHICAGO CRIME
In May 1897, Louise Luetgert mysteriously disappeared. Though
her body was never found, her husband—sausage manufacturer
Adolph Luetgert—was arrested and thus began one of America’s
first media circuses. Through two trials, the Luetgert case fascinated
the press and wreaked economic havoc on the sausage industry.
Tonight on Extension 720 we will discuss this fascinating murder
case and other Chicago true-crime stories with ROBERT LOERZEL,
author of the new book 
Alchemy
of Bones: Chicago's Luetgert Murder Case of 1897, LEIGH
BIENEN, senior lecturer at Northwestern University’s School
of Law, and our old friend JOHN DRUMMOND of WBBM-TV.
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 19TH
POWERFUL WOMEN: THE POLITICAL AND POETICAL
Extension 720 tonight highlights powerful women. During the first
hour of the program we welcome DAVID HEYMANN, noted journalist
and biographer, who has just done a major book on Washington D.C.’s
most powerful women: 
The
Georgetown Ladies' Social Club: Power, Passion, and Politics in
the Nation's Capitol. During the second hour,
tune in as we talk with literary scholar Diane Middlebrook about
the tumultuous marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, as detailed
in her new book 
Her
Husband: Hughes and Plath: Portrait of a Marriage.
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 20TH
BEHIND THE ENRON SCANDAL AND BEYOND THE SEAS
The Enron scandal rocked the American financial world and seemed
to start a corporate meltdown of epidemic proportions. Tonight
on Extension 720, we welcome BETHANY MCLEAN, senior writer at
Fortune magazine and co-author of the new book 
The
Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall
of Enron. McLean was one of the first journalists to
question Enron’s success; her March 2001 Fortune
article (“Is Enron Overpriced?”) sparked media interest
in the company. She will discuss the energy company’s well-documented
downfall during our first hour. The second hour will feature NATHANIEL
PHILBRICK, winner of the National Book Award, who will be discussing
his new book 
Sea
of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition,
1838-1842.
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 21ST
JFK’S ASSASSINATION: 40 YEARS LATER
Tomorrow marks 40 years since John F. Kennedy was assassinated
in Dallas, Texas. Extension 720 tonight will examine the facts
and fictions that swirl around that momentous historical event,
as well as discuss what the world would have been like if Kennedy
had not died and—in fact—served another term as president.
Join us after the Northwestern University basketball game for
this factual and counterfactual exploration of one of this century's
defining moments.
MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 24TH
THE FUTURE OF ZIONISM
Once again, Extension 720 focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Tonight we welcome ARTHUR HERTZBERG, author of the new book 
The
Fate of Zionism: A Secular Future for Israel and Palestine,
to discuss the role of religion in forging a lasting peace between
Israel and an emerging Palestinian state.
TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 25TH
MOVING BEYOND OUR SECURITY FEARS
In this post-September 11 world, we all worry about our security—in
the airport, at work and at home. As frightening as that day was
and however real our worries are, security expert BRUCE SCHNEIER
believes that our attitude towards personal safety is too ruled
by fear instead of action. In his new book 
Beyond
Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World,
Schneier debunks the myths of national security, and tonight after
the Northwestern basketball game he will give us concrete ways
to move beyond our emotions to achieve real security.
WEDNESDAY,
NOVEMBER 26TH
REAL CLEAR POLITICS
Tonight on Extension 720 we welcome TOM BEVAN and JOHN MCINTYRE,
purveyors of the website http://www.realclearpolitics.com/.
They will be discussing the current state of politics and the
increasing importance of the internet in modern journalism and
political campaigns.
THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 27TH
A recorded edition of the program will play tonight as Extension
720 celebrates Thanksgiving. During the first hour, digest your
Thanksgiving feast while listening to ANDREW DORNENBERG, KAREN
PAGE and DENNIS RAY WHEATON discussing 
The
New American Chef: Cooking with the Best of Flavors and Techniques
from Around the World. The second hour features leading
Chicago historian TIMUEL BLACK discussing his new book 
Bridges
of Memory: Chicago's First Wave of Black Migration: An Oral History.
FRIDAY,
NOVEMBER 28TH
OLD TIME RADIO
Extension 720 tonight takes a trip down memory lane with
CHUCK SCHADEN. A member of the Radio Hall of Fame, author of the
new book 
Speaking
of Radio: Chuck Schaden's Conversations with the Stars of the
Golden Age of Radio and host of the weekly radio show
"Those Were the Days," Schaden will bring some of the
best sound clips from the early days of broadcasting to play and
discuss.
Archive
of previous show topics:
