February
2006 Shows
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WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 1ST
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln wrote in a letter to A.G. Hodges, “I
claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that
events have controlled me.” Though Lincoln’s essential
humility might deny his place in history, his leadership during
the Civil War has assured his place amongst this country’s
greatest presidents. Tonight, we examine the life of Lincoln,
from his boyhood in Kentucky to his rise into the nation’s
political elite with RICHARD CARWARDINE, Oxford University historian,
winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize and author of the new
book 
Lincoln:
A Life of Purpose and Power.
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 2ND
THE GREAT BOOKS
It was once said that "when you reread a classic you do not
see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you
than was there before." Tonight, after the 7:00 p.m. Northwestern
basketball game, we will be examining the historical, cultural
and personal importance of the great works of western civilization
with two scholars of great literature: DANIEL BORN, editor of
The Common Review, the publication of the Great Books
Foundation, and WILLIAM RICE, the new president of Shimer College
in Waukegan, which has a great books curriculum.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 3RD
OPEN LINE
Tonight, Milt opens the phone lines to hear our listeners’
reactions to the latest news from at home and abroad. Be sure
to phone in early for your chance to be heard.
MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 6TH
THE LAST YEARS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on a hotel
balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassination not only ended
his personal crusade to end racism in America, but it also marked
the beginning of a decisive split between the civil rights leaders
in America. Tonight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author TAYLOR BRANCH
will discuss the last years of Martin Luther King and the evolution
of his beliefs and the civil rights movement in general, as outlined
in his new book 
At
Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68.
TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 7TH
GREAT SPEECHES
What makes a great speech? Cicero wrote that “the best orator…teaches
and delights and moves the minds of his hearers,” while
Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that “what is said is the least
part of the oration.” Tonight, we will examine the history
and evolution of speechmaking and the importance of style over
content with DAVID ZAREFSKY, professor of communication at Northwestern
University and an expert in the history of rhetoric. Tune in to
hear some of the best speeches throughout history, from Demosthenes
to George W. Bush.
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 8TH
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Noel Coward once quipped: “People are wrong when they say
the opera isn’t what it used to be. It is what it used to
be. That’s what’s wrong with it.” However, here
in Chicago we are privileged to house one of the premier opera
companies in the world, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, who consistently
demonstrate what’s right with this intriguing art form.
After the 7:00 p.m. Northwestern basketball game, we will spend
a night at the opera with BILL MASON, general director of the
Lyric Opera, ROGER PINES, the Lyric's historian and dramaturge,
and internationally renowned mezzo-soprano SUSAN GRAHAM, currently
performing as Octavian in the Lyric's production of Der Rosenkavalier.
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 9TH
FALSE MEMORY SYNDROME
One of the evils of modern psychology is the undue influence
that therapists sometimes exercise over their patients, especially
in the case of false memory syndrome. Under the influence of hypnosis,
patients come to realize that they have repressed memories of
heinous abuse by parents and relatives, abuse that in reality
never occured. Tonight, we explore the history and implications
of false memory syndrome with four expert guests: ZACHARY BRAVOS,
an Illinois attorney who specializes in false memory cases, ELIZABETH
GALE, a former patient of recovered memory therapy who received
the largest single psychiatric malpractice settlement in the United
States, AGNES WINDHEIM, who has just reunited with her daughter
and grandchildren who had previously accused her of abuse while
in repressed memory therapy, and (joining the program by phone)
R. CHRIS BARDEN, a lawyer and psychologist who is an expert in
false memory cases.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 10TH
THE NEW CARS
As the 2006 Chicago Auto Show begins, Extension 720 welcomes automotive
experts JOE WIESENFELDER of Cars.com
and RICK POPELY of the Chicago Tribune to evaluate all
the newest models on display here in Chicago and to discuss the
state of the automotive industry in general.
MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 13TH
CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE
German architect Walter Gropius once said: “a modern, harmonic
and lively architecture is the visible sign of an authentic democracy.”
Based on the recent architectural feats in Chicago—from
Millennium Park to Trump Tower—Chicago’s architectural
scene is lively and modern, though not necessarily harmonic. Tonight,
we will evaluate all of the latest skyscrapers, parks, condominiums
and more that have become part of this city’s landscape
with three architectural experts: BLAIR KAMIN, architecture critic
for the Chicago Tribune, JAY PRIDMORE, co-author of 
Chicago
Architecture and Design, and JEANNE GANG of Studio Gang
Architects.
TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 14TH
THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY
What is in store for the United States' economy in 2006?
How will increasing globalization change the economic outlook
for our businesses and consumers? Tonight we take a general overview
of the state of the American economy, as well as examining how
the global market affects our finances here at home. Our guests
will be SAM PELTZMAN, professor of economics at the University
of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, PAUL KASRIEL, Senior
Vice President and Chief Economist at Northern Trust Bank, and
STEVEN ANTLER, professor of economics at Roosevelt University
and blogger at Econopundit.
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 15TH
EXAMINING RELIGION
How does religion shape the way we look at the world? Why do so
many people hold religious beliefs? Adherence to religion is an
accepted fact in our society, but rarely do we ask why we feel
the need or desire to embrace a power greater than ourselves.
After tonight’s 7:00 p.m. Northwestern basketball game,
we will examine the philosophical and psychological purposes that
religion fulfills. Our guests tonight are DANIEL C. DENNETT, professor
of philosophy, co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies
at Tufts University and author of the new book 
Breaking
the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, and DAVID
COOK, professor of philosophy at Wheaton College.
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 16TH
NEWS REVIEW
The past two months have been extremely active both at
home and abroad. From the confirmation of Samuel Alito, the election
of Hamas in Palestine to the ongoing controversies over domestic
wiretapping and the political cartoons that have inflamed the
Muslim world, the political face of the world has rapidly shifted.
Tonight, we discuss all of these recent events and more with KERRY
LUFT, foreign editor for the Chicago Tribune, DICK CICCONE,
former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, and TOM
BEVAN, co-founer of Real
Clear Politics.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 17TH
LIFE ON THE FEATURES BEAT
In the newspaper world, the reporters who cover international
affairs, politics and crime often get all the glory. But it is
the human interest stories that give a paper its color and its
character. Tonight, we look at life on the features beat with
three of Chicago's top features reporters: RON GROSSMAN and JON
ANDERSON of the Chicago Tribune and JODI RUDOREN of the
Chicago bureau of the New York Times.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH
EXAMINING PREEMPTION
The United States' preemptive military action in Iraq,
undertaken because of perceived threats from the regime of Saddam
Hussein, is the most recent example of how preemption is influencing
our lives today. But preemption is not a new idea--it has been
used in such varied examples as the execution of witches in Salem
to Israel's strike against Egypt in 1967. Tonight we explore this
phenomenon and its consequences (both positive and negative) with
noted legal scholar ALAN DERSHOWITZ, who explores this very topic
in his new book 
Preemption:
A Knife That Cuts Both Ways (Issues of Our Time).
TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 21ST
INSIDE OPUS DEI
Dan Brown's novel The DaVinci Code has become
a worldwide phenomenon and will soon be turned into an almost-guaranteed
blockbuster movie. The book's plot revolves a centuries-old secret
being kept by the mysterious and vaguely sinister Catholic society
Opus Dei. Looking beyond fiction, however, the real Opus Dei is
prelature of the Catholic Church that has an active presence here
in Chicago and worldwide. Tonight, we examine the real Opus Dei
with three persons active in that organization: FATHER FRANK HOFFMAN,
DR. HELEN KRAUS, and LUPE GOMEZ.
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 22ND
A LOOK AT THE CONFEDERACY
Earlier this month, we discussed the life of Abraham Lincoln;
tonight, we examine his death at the hand of struggling actor
and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, as apart of a larger
discussion of the Confederate States of America. We will be discussing
the roots of secession, the mistakes the Confederacy made that
lost them the war, and how a Confederate plot led to the death
of Lincoln. Our guests tonight will be MICHAEL PERMAN, professor
of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, VERNON BURTON,
professor of history and sociology at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, and JAMES SWANSON, noted Lincoln scholar, member
of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee and author of the
new book 
Manhunt:
The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer.
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY 23RD
THE ASIAN MYSTIQUE
After tonight's 8:00 p.m. Northwestern basketball game,
we aired a recently recorded interview with SHERIDAN PRASSO, author
of 
The
Asian Mystique: Dragon Ladies, Geisha Girls, and Our Fantasies
of the Exotic Orient.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 24TH
EXAMINING CREATIVITY
What defines
artistic genius? And when are geniuses most productive in their
lives? Some artists (such as Orson Welles) bloom early and have
prodigious output only to fade away later in life; while others
(such as Alfred Hitchcock) have less revolutionary but more sustained
accomplishments. Tonight, we will be examining the life cycle
of creativity with JOSH KOTIN, editor of the Chicago Review,
and DAVID GALENSON, professor of economics at the University of
Chicago and author of the new book 
Old
Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity.
MONDAY,
FEBRUARY 27TH
QUARTERLY BOOK REVIEW
Henry Miller once quipped: “in recommending a book to a
friend the less said the better. The moment you praise a book
too highly you awaken resistance in your listener.” Tonight,
we risk awakening resistance in all of our listeners as we once
again welcome DAN TUCKER, ALAN GITELSON and PENELOPE MESIC, who
will be on hand to praise and deride some of the most interesting
books that Extension 720 has received over the past few months.
TUESDAY,
FEBRUARY 28TH
INSIDE THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
Tonight on Extension 720, we go into the archives of
two major Illinois libraries. Joining us to discuss the art and
science of collecting and maintaining historically important materials
are VALERIE HOTCHKISS, head of the Rare Book and Special Collections
Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and PAUL
SAENGER, George A. Poole Curator of Rare Books and Collection
Development Librarian at the Newberry Library.
Archive
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