North Carolina Public Radio WUNC - SOT Audio Archive

"Going Away Shoes"

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:40:40

Author Jill McCorkle is part of the generation of writers who have defined contemporary Southern literature. Her early heroines were wise-cracking ambitious young ladies who grew into wise-cracking ambitious women. Her newest short story collection is called “Going Away Shoes,” and it features a long, deep look at what happens to those plucky Southern women when they hit middle age. Jill McCorkle stops by to read from her latest collection and reflect on the writing life of a Southern woman.

Meet the Taylor Women

Frank Stasio and Katy Barron — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:00:00

Kate Taylor is a member of a famous musical family from North Carolina. A new documentary features songs from her latest CD and footage of her growing up in Chapel Hill with brothers Livingston, Hugh, Alex and James. The documentary, “Kate Taylor: Tunes from the Tipi and Other Songs From Home,” is screening on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill tomorrow night and will be followed by a performance by Kate Taylor. In advance of that, three generations of Taylors: sister Kate along with her daughter, Liz Witham, and her mother, Trudy Taylor, join host Frank Stasio to talk about the lasting impact their time in North Carolina has had on the family and its music.

Schooner

Frank Stasio and Katy Barron — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:00

Carrboro-based band Schooner's new EP, "Duck Kee Sessions" is available only as a digital download from Cytunes.org. The music downloading site is dedicated to the memory of the beloved local musician Cy Rawls, who died of brain cancer in 2008. Al l proceeds from Cytunes go to brain cancer research. Schooner joins host Frank Stasio to discuss life, loss and how their sound has evolved on their latest release.

"Who Was This Man?"

Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:00

Al Letson is the host of the Public Radio Exchange program "The State of the Re: Union." The show captures glimpses of American life as it travels from state-to-state to document interesting people and events. For Black History Month, Letson and his team assembled a special program featuring the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a civil rights activist, community organizer and a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin was also a Quaker and a homosexual and an outsider within the African-American community. His influence on the non-violence movement that King encouraged is undisputed, but Rustin's story is often left out of the narrative of the Civil Rights Era. Letson joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the special on Rustin, called "Who Was This Man?," which will air on WUNC this weekend.

Existed

Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:00

The work of visual artist Leonardo Drew is being honored at the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro with a mid-career retrospective of his pieces called "Existed." Drew is well-known for his large-scale, mixed media sculptures that include materials like paper, cotton, wood, rust, and even bones. He joins host Frank Stasio to talk about being inspired to create by the cycle of nature and the joy and burden of having a famous namesake.

Wilderness and the American Mind

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:31:29

After witnessing an oil spill in California , environmental philosopher Roderick Nash started a movement. His efforts are the foundation for the discipline of environmental studies, and his book, “Wilderness and the American Mind,” is one of the field’s most important texts. Roderick Nash, Professor Emeritus of History and the Environmental Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, joins host Frank Stasio to discuss the meaning of wilderness and the rights of nature.

This is an edited version of a conversation that originally broadcast on November 3, 2009. Listen to the full interview here:

http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot1103b09.mp3/view

Septima Clark

Frank Stasio and Katy Barron — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:27:58

Long before the marches on Washington , bus boycotts and sit-ins, Septima Clark was an activist in the black freedom struggle. She taught people to read, then to vote, then to hold elected officials accountable. Clark is best remembered for the citizenship schools she founded, which were later adopted by MLK Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and credited with training thousands of community activists. Katherine Mellen Charron, assistant professor of history at N.C. State University, tells Clark’s personal and political story in her new book, “Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark” (UNC Press/2009) and joins host Frank Stasio for a conversation about the long legacy of black women’s educational activism.

This is an edited version of a conversation that originally broadcast on November 19, 2009. Listen to the full interview here:

http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot1119ab09.mp3/view

Veins

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:23:18

Raleigh poet Larry Johnson has been fascinated with the ancient world since high school. His new collection is called “Veins” (David Robert Books/2009) and it explores the untold stories of distant civilizations. He joins host Frank Stasio for a conversation about the unsung heroes of literature.

This is an edited version of a conversation that originally broadcast on November 12, 2009. Listen to the full interview here:

http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot1112c09.mp3/view

Thad Cockrell

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:25:20

God, beauty, redemption and El Caminos…they’re all themes on singer-songwriter Thad Cockrell’s new record, “To Be Loved.” The album is self-produced, but not for a lack of interest from major labels. Rather, Thad felt it was the kind of record that should spread word-of-mouth and hand-to-hand. It has and we’ll find out why whenThad Cockrell joins host Frank Stasio to play some tunes live in our studio.

Searching for Spirituality in Prison

Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:11:45

Students of the course “Novels and Spiritual Journey” are assigned to read works of fiction that challenge their ideas about faith and religion. Then, they are asked to pen parts of their own memoirs rooted in those lessons of spirituality. Some of the students are women from Duke Divinity School. The others live where the course is taught: at the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women. The combination of theologians and inmates in the classroom creates a unique educational atmosphere and a community that reflects the advantages of cultural exchange and sisterhood. Host Frank Stasio goes inside the prison to speak to some of the students and their instructors, including the program director Sarah Jobe, about the search for spirituality in prison.

For more audio from SOT's visit to the Raleigh Correctional Center for Women, click here to hear the voices of Duke Divinity School student April Coates, course instructor Lauren Winner, "soon-to-be-former" inmate Theresa Godfrey, and course instructor Enuma Okoro. And for photos from the prison, visit our Facebook fan page.

Greensboro’s Civil Rights Museum Opens

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:00:00

We’re broadcasting live from Greensboro today to celebrate the opening of the new International Civil Rights Center and Museum. The old Woolworth’s building is now a monument to the sit-in movement that began there 50 years ago. Host Frank Stasio discusses the significance of the place and of the movement it birthed with: Guilford County Commissioner and Co-Founder of the museum, Melvin “Skip” Alston; Franklin McCain, one of the original Greensboro Four; Bill Chafe, the Mary Alice Baldwin Professor of History at Duke University and the author of “Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina and the Black Struggle for Freedom;” Victor Vines, president of Vines Architecture; and, Bamidele Demerson, curator of the museum.

Jon Shain Trio

Frank Stasio and Lindsay Thomas — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:15:56

For his sixth solo CD, Durham musician Jon Shain turned to the city of New Orleans for inspiration. The project, called "Times Right Now," blends the sound of Louisiana horns with Piedmont blues and rock. Shain joins host Frank Stasio to talk about reflecting the musical beauty of a city in distress and working with legendary producer Chris Stamey.

Mapping Social Justice

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:09:29

The Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities in Mebane is a labor of love for husband and wife team Ann Moss Joyner and Allan Parnell. They combine Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with Census data and other publicly accessible statistics to generate maps that prove long-term and systematic discrimination through denial of basic services. They've helped in several annexation cases and a landmark access-to-water case. Ann Moss Joyner and Allan Parnell join host Frank Stasio and Mark Dorosin, from the UNC Center for Civil Rights, to explain their technique and their strategy for victory.

Political Round Up

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:45:35

If former Mike Easley aide Ruffin Poole is found guilty on all 51 counts of corruption, he could be facing upwards of 700 years in prison. That might be long enough for the John Edwards saga to wind down. Also, the North Carolina Supreme Court will soon hear the case of inmates previously given life in prison who are now fighting for their release based on the definition of a life sentence. WUNC’s Capitol Correspondent Laura Leslie joins host Frank Stasio for a rundown of all the North Carolina political news, including Easley, Edwards and North Carolina reactions to President Obama’s State of the Union address.

LINES Ballet with Jason Moran

Frank Stasio and Katy Barron — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:00:00

Alonzo King’s San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company, LINES, is famous for drawing inspiration from global cultural traditions and for collaborating with people outside the world of classical ballet. He brings his latest piece, Scheherazade, to Duke University’s Reynolds Theater this weekend for its American debut. He also will present Refraction, featuring jazz pianist Jason Moran. Moran and King join host Frank Stasio to talk about collaboration and innovation in performance art.