May 2005
Shows
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MONDAY,
MAY 2ND
THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE
In three months during 1994, over 800,000 people were massacred
in Rwanda while the United Nations and most of the world did nothing
to stop the killing. Tonight, we examine the history of Rwanda,
the reasons for this genocide, the reaction of the world and the
current state of that country. Our three guests tonight are JAMES
SEARING, professor of history at the University of Illinois Chicago,
JEFF RICE, lecturer in history at Northwestern University who
teaches classes in comparative genocide, and DINA TEMPLE RASTON,
City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Sun and author
of the book 
Justice
on the Grass: Three Rwandan Journalists, Their Trial for War Crimes
and a Nation's Quest for Redemption.
TUESDAY,
MAY 3RD
A recorded edition of Extension 720 will air after the 7:05 p.m.
Cubs game.
WEDNESDAY,
MAY 4TH
ODDBALL TRAVEL
Are you looking for summer vacation ideas? Tonight, after the
7:05 p.m. Cubs game, Extension 720 welcomes back travel expert
JEROME POHLEN to discuss his latest book 
Oddball
Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places, as well
as recommend some of his favorite off-the-beaten path destinations
from around the country.
THURSDAY,
MAY 5TH
ORGANIZED CRIME
Lyndon Baines Johnson once said, “Organized crime constitutes
nothing less than a guerrilla war against society.” With
the recent arrests of Chicago-area mobsters by the FBI, it appears
that the government is fighting back against “the Outfit.”
Tonight, Extension 720 will be discussing the mob in Chicago with
a panel of three experts: TOM KIRKPATRICK, president of the Chicago
Crime Commission, JOHN DRUMMOND, former crime reporter at WBBM-TV,
and JOHN KASS, columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
FRIDAY,
MAY 6TH
SMOKING, THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY, AND YOUR HEALTH
Each year, cigarettes kill approximately 400,000 people and cause
medical costs of about 75 billion dollars. The 2005 National Conference
on Tobacco or Health—held here in Chicago—just ended
this evening, and tonight we welcome some of the doctors and health
experts from that meeting to Extension 720 to discuss the latest
research on the effects of tobacco and cigarettes on health. Our
guests are DR. ALAN BLUM, director of the Center for the Study
of Tobacco and Society at the University of Alabama, CYNTHIA HALLETT,
executive director of Americans for Non-Smoker's Rights, ED SWEDA,
senior staff attorney with the Tobacco Control Resource Center
and attorney with the Tobacco Products Liability Project, and
DR. MARTIN JARVIS, clinical psychologist at University College
London specializing in behavioral and psychological aspects of
tobacco dependence.
MONDAY,
MAY 9TH
Extension 720 was pre-empted tonight by the rain delayed 7:05
Cubs game.
TUESDAY,
MAY 10TH
RACE RELATIONS, CIVIL RIGHTS AND JAZZ
Tonight, after the 7:05 p.m. Cubs game, we explore the importance
of race and civil rights in Detroit during the Jazz Age. Our guest
is KEVIN BOYLE, professor of history at Ohio State University
and author of 
Arc
of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz
Age, which won the National Book Award in 2004.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11TH
TORT REFORM
America has become a country of lawsuits; if you're dissatisfied
with your doctor, your plumber, your employer you can sue them
and--in some cases--be awarded millions of dollars in damages.
Some argue that medical malpractice suits cost consumers and insurance
companies hundreds of millions of dollars each year and are responsible
from driving doctors out of certain states. But where do you draw
the line between reform and respect for the consumer and corporate
accountability? Tonight, we debate the question of tort reform
with two representatives from each side: MAUREEN MARTIN, Senior
Fellow for Legal Affairs at the Heartland Institute, and ROBERT
J. BINGLE, managing partner at Corboy and Demetrio and former
president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
THURSDAY,
MAY 12TH
THE HISTORY OF IRAQ
Long before the U.S. invaded Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam
Hussein, Iraq was the center of the Muslim world. During the 8th
and 9th centuries, under the Abbasid dynasty, Baghdad was the
Athens of its day, a center of culture and political power. Tonight,
we explore the history of Iraq with a panel of historians, including
HUGH KENNEDY, professor of history at St. Andrews University,
Scotland and author of the new book 
When
Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest
Dynasty, and CARL PETRY, professor of history at Northwestern
University.
FRIDAY,
MAY 13TH
SKULLDUGGERY IN BASEBALL
Tonight, after the 6:10 p.m. Cubs game, we’re pleased to
have ELDON HAM, one of Extension 720’s oldest friends, back
on the program to discuss the world of sports—particularly
cheating in baseball, as outlined in his new book 
Larceny
and Old Leather: The Mischievous Legacy of Major League Baseball.
MONDAY,
MAY 16TH
NEPOTISM
There is a Spanish proverb that says: “an ounce of blood
is worth more than a pound of friendship.” This aphorism
is especially true when it comes to nepotism—the granting
of favors because of family ties. Whether in the workplace or
in politics, in principle it appears to be the worst of sins;
in practice, however, it often works to advantage. We will be
discussing nepotism tonight with ADAM BELLOW, former editorial
director of the Free Press, son of one of the most influential
authors in this century, and—perhaps not coincidentally—author
of 
In
Praise of Nepotism: A History of Family Enterprise from King David
to George W. Bush.
TUESDAY, MAY 17TH
REMEMBERING JEAN SHEPHERD
Perhaps best known as the author of A Christmas Story,
which was turned into a perennially popular movie, Jean Shepherd
was a veteran radio personality, humorist, author and actor who
entertained his fans for decades. Tonight, after the 6:05 p.m.
Cubs game, we celebrate the genius of Jean Shepherd in memories
and audio clips with EUGENE BERGMANN, author of the new book 
Excelsior,
You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd.
WEDNESDAY,
MAY 18TH
BEHIND OL’ BLUE EYES
Frank Sinatra is one of America’s most beloved icons, a
singer and actor whose legacy lives on years after his death.
Tonight, we examine the private Sinatra, from his passionate relationships
with Ava Gardner and his struggle with alcohol to his ties with
the Mafia. Our guest tonight is the eminent biographer ANTHONY
SUMMERS, who has used a vast collection of interviews and documents
to uncover more of the hidden Sinatra as detailed in his new book
Sinatra:
The Life.
THURSDAY, MAY 19TH
VACATION TRAVEL
G.K. Chesterton once commented that “the whole object of
travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set
foot on one's own country as a foreign land.” On tonight’s
program, we will be exploring the hidden United States, as well
as discussing interesting and oft-forgotten foreign locales with
a panel of travel experts: the Chicago Tribune’s
ALAN SOLOMON, Chicago Sun-Times' DAVE HOEKSTRA and LAURIE
BORMAN, editorial director at Rand McNally and former editor-in-chief
of Endless Vacation magazine.
FRIDAY,
MAY 20TH
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON ON IRAQ
Last Monday, noted classicist and conservative columnist
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON recorded a conversation with us on the build
up to--and current state of--the United States' involvement in
Iraq. We will be playing that interview during the first hour
of the program tonight, and then taking listener feedback on Hanson's
views.
MONDAY,
MAY 23RD
THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
After tonight's 7:05 Cubs game, former Extension 720
producer CHERYL COLLINS interviewed the former executive editor
of National Geographic ROBERT POOLE, author of the recent
book 
Explorers
House: National Geographic and the World It Made.
TUESDAY,
MAY 24TH
A recorded edition of Extension 720 will air after this 7:05 p.m.
Cubs game.
WEDNESDAY,
MAY 25TH
THE LEGACY OF STANLEY MILGRAM
In 1963, a young psychologist named Stanley Milgram published
a study in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology basically
stating that most people were willing to inflict painful electric
shocks on others when doing so under orders. This groundbreaking
view of human nature has been applied to historical events such
as the Holocaust and the My Lai massacre and changed psychology
forever. Tonight, after the 6:05 p.m. Cubs game, we examine the
influence of Milgram’s work with THOMAS BLASS, author of
the biography 
The
Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram.
THURSDAY,
MAY 26TH
THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND HOLLYWOOD
During the Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, many members
of the Hollywood elite—including Dalton Trumbo, Ring Lardner
Jr., Lucille Ball, Orson Welles, Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller—were
called before the House Un-American Activities Committee to report
on Communist activity. Tonight, we examine that period in American
history with RONALD and ALLIS RADOSH, authors of the new book
Red
Star over Hollywood: The Film Colony's Long Romance with Red Left,
which details the behind-the-scenes radicalism of many members
of the Communist Party in Hollywood.
FRIDAY,
MAY 27TH
BUDDHISM
W. Winwood Reader described Buddhism as: “a religion so
cheerless, a philosophy so sorrowful, could never have succeeded
with the masses of mankind if presented only as a system of metaphysics.
Buddhism owed its success to its catholic spirit and its beautiful
morality.” Tonight, we will be examining Buddhism as a religion,
from its roots in India to the many forms it takes today. Our
panelists tonight are: STEPHEN ASMA, professor of Buddhism at
Columbia College Chicago and author of the new book 
The
Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling toward Enlightenment in the Land
of the Tattered Buddha, DAN ARNOLD, professor
of the philosophy of religion at the University of Chicago's Divinity
School, and PATTI NAKAI, non-resident minister at the Buddhist
Temple of Chicago.
MONDAY,
MAY 30TH
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
After the 7:05 Cubs game, Extension 720 celebrates Memorial
Day with a recorded interview with ALEX KERSHAW, author of 
The
Longest Winter: The Battle of the Bulge and the Epic Story of
World War II's Most Decorated Platoon.
TUESDAY, MAY 31ST
The Cubs pinch-hit for Extension 720 tonight as they face off
against the Dodgers at 9:10 p.m.
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