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TEEN ANGST
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Program 09-03-08-B |
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Depending on who you ask, the teenage years are either a wasteland of misery or the best years of your life. For most of us, it's somewhere in between. But what makes the teens such emotional dynamite? One scientist says the teen years exist to grow and organize our huge human brains. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the natural history of the teenager. Also, comic Eugene Mirman on growing up weird...and funny.
SEGMENT 1:
Biologist and science writer David Bainbridge tells Steve Paulson that a prolonged adolescence is unique to humans and one of our greatest evolutionary advantages. Bainbridge's book is "Teenagers: A Natural History."
SEGMENT 2:
Frank Warren is the founder of the blog PostSecret and author of the companion books "A Lifetime of Secrets" and "My Secret." He tells Anne Strainchamps how the blog works, and that he treasures the postcards he receives. We also hear a montage of sample postcards. Also, Rebecca Walker is the daughter of celebrated novelist Alice Walker and a white Jewish father. Rebecca is the author of memoirs called "Baby Love" and "Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of A Changing Self." She talks with Steve Paulson about her unconventional upbringing and how having a child of her own changed her feelings about it.
SEGMENT 3:
Eugene Mirman is an indie comic and the author of an outlandish self-help send-up called "The Will to Whatevs." He tells Jim Fleming that school was horrible for him and gave rise to his nerd humor. Also, Laura Miller is a literary critic at Salon dot com and the author of "The Magician's Book." She tells Anne Strainchamps why she thinks Stephanie Meyers' "Twilight" books are such a phenomenal success with young women, even though the lead female character is so lacking in gifts or accomplishments.
CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-03-08-A.
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| David Bainbridge, Teenagers:
A Natural History (D & M Publications) |
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Eugene Mirman, The Will to Whatevs (Harper Perennial) |
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| Rebecca Walker, Baby Love
(Riverhead) |
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- Frank Warren Postsecret
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ - Rebecca Walker's website
http://www.rebeccawalker.com
- Eugene Mirman's website
http://eugenemirman.com/
- -Smells Like Teen Spirit/ The
Bad Plus/ These are the Vistas/Sony
- -Supermassive Black Hole/ by Muse/ performed by Vitamin
String Quartet/ A & E Records Limited
- -Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 for soprano and cello
arr. by Alexander Lagoya for Guitar and Orchestra)/ Essential Guitar/Decca
Music Group, Ltd.
- -Teenage Wasteland- Baba O'Reilly/ APM Karaoke/ Karaoke Hits: The Who/
- -Bella's Lullaby, Theme from Twilight/ Into the Twilight/Black Moon Lovers/ Countdown Media GmbH
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