October 24, 2008
The Puritans came to America full of ideals and lofty aspirations. Four hundred years later, candidates like Sarah Palin still sing their tune. Writer Sarah Vowell, author of the new book The Wordy Shipmates, says we could learn a thing or two from these politicians who invented America.
A political analyst for MSNBC, O’Donnell has worked for Daniel Patrick Moynihan and wrote for the TV series “The West Wing.” O’Donnell tells Kurt about how this fall’s debates echoed the fictional ones he wrote years ago.
Black is not just a skin color; it’s a quality of voice. Sarah Jones, the Tony Award-winning performer, talks with linguist John McWhorter about what it means to sound black today. They look at how Barack Obama has used “blaccent” to drive audiences wild. Produced by Studio 360's Derek John.
The screenwriter behind “Being John Malkovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” makes his directorial debut. In his new film “Synecdoche, New York” the protagonist turns all of New York City into a theater production. To understand the city as a stage, Kurt left the studio and met Charlie Kaufman at the dog run in Washington Square Park.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Kurt and Charlie Kaufman at the dog run
(Production by Matthew Cavnar)
A good magic trick isn’t just a trick – it’s a story wrapped around a trick. Magicians distract their audiences with professional smooth talk called patter, and it sounds eerily similar to what politicians deliver in debates and on the stump. Magicians Steven Cohen, Mark Levy and Harry Lorayne break down the power of patter. Produced by Sally Herships and Chang Lin.
Kevin Kallaugher, better known as KAL, has been the cartoonist at The Economist for 30 years. He explains how the donkey and elephant came to represent the parties, and charts their evolution in our culture. Produced by Gretta Cohn.
Studio 360 is a co-production of
Public
Radio International and
WNYC New York Public Radio, and is funded in part by
Ken and Lucy Lehman, the
National Endowment for the Arts, and the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. Studio 360's American Icons series is supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Our series on creativity and science is supported in part by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Our series on Underground Heroes is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. 
