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 To the Best of Our Knowledge

 


A Five Part Series from TTBOOK!

 

PRI
Public Radio International

WPR
Wisconsin Public Radio

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VOICES

Program 07-11-04-B

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We're familiar with the idea of hearing voices...perhaps our "inner critic" or the voice of a parent or beloved family member. But what if you, or someone you loved, really heard voices? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Daniel B. Smith talks about the phenomenon of auditory hallucination...and the problems it caused for his father. Also, novelist Wesley Stace talks about his new novel, an act of "literary ventriloquism."

SEGMENT 1:

Anne Karpf is the author of "The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are." She tells Steve Paulson our voices communicate all sorts of things, which listeners can understand even if they don't speak the same language.

SEGMENT 2:

We hear a simulation produced by Dr. Patricia Deegan, co-founder of the National Empowerment Center, of what it's like to hear distressing voices in your head. Daniel B. Smith obtained it in an effort to understand what his father experienced every day. Smith is the author of "Muses, Madmen and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucinations." Smith tells Anne Strainchamps that both his father and grandfather heard voices, but led perfectly ordinary lives. Also, Jim Gaffigan is an actor and standup comedian, who makes extensive use of his "inner voice." TTBOOK producer talks with Gaffigan and takes a closer look at this inner voice, and of course we hear it.

SEGMENT 3:

"Welcome to the Voice" is a new opera which has just been released on CD. Steve Nieve - long time keyboard player for Elvis Costello - composed the music, and Muriel Teodori wrote the libretto. The cast includes both classically trained singers and rock artists like Sting and Elvis Costello. The composer and librettist talk about the opera with Jim Fleming. Also, Wesley Stace, (who is equally well known as his alter ego, singer/songwriter John Wesley Harding) has a new novel called "By George." It's the story of a family of entertainers, as told by two boys named George - one of whom is a ventriloquist's dummy. Stace tells Anne Strainchamps that his grandfather was a ventriloquist.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 07-11-04-B.

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Books:

Anne Karpf, The Human Voice: How this Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are (Bloomsbury)
Daniel B. Smith, Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination (The Penguin Press)
Wesley Stace, By George (Little, Brown)
Nieve & Teodori, Welcome to the Voice (CD) (DG)

Websites:

Clips:

Music:

Distribution dates: week of 11/04/2007 - hour2

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org
     


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