TTBOOK December 1996

TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE
On Wisconsin Public Radio

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December 1996

To see information for a particular day, click on the number. Click on the date to return to the top of the page. Click on the program number to go to the main page for that program.


"To the Best of Our Knowledge" is broadcast weekdays at 3:00 pm on

WPR's NPR News and Classical Music Network

Three new hours are produced each week; hour A on Monday, hour B on Tuesday, and hour C on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday programs are repeated from earlier months.

"To the Best of Our Knowledge" is broadcast Sunday afternoons from noon to three on

WPR's Ideas Network

Hour A Sunday at one, repeated Monday nights at eleven, hour B Sunday at two, repeated Tuesday night at eleven, and hour C Sunday at noon, repeated Wednesday night at eleven.
Questions and comments can be addressed to:

flemingj@vilas.uwex.edu


Monday December 2 New Germany
96-12-01-A The Berlin Wall came tumbling down more than seven years ago. Former East and West Germans are still struggling to become a single nation. This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, searching for the new Germany. Also, Daniel Goldhagen on the Holocaust. He says ordinary Germans weren't just following orders.
Tuesday December 3 Deep Ocean
96-12-01-B We know more about the dark side of the moon than we know about the bottom of the deep blue see. But scientists are finally beginning to get a glimpse into this murky abyss and, to their surprise, they see -- light! This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, photosynthesis on the ocean floor, a "vampire squid from hell," and one man's search for shipwrecks.
Wednesday December 4 Villains and Outcasts
96-12-01-C History's most notorious outlaw is more than 2000 years old, and he still scares the heck out of people. This afternoon on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story behind the Devil's recent popularity. Also other dastardly villains, why we're fascinated by their twisted minds and wicked ways.
Thursday December 5 Vietnam
96-03-17-C More than twenty years have passed since American troops withdrew from Vietnam, and the terrible wounds of that war are only beginning to heal. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, writer Tim O'Brien and other veterans -- from both sides of the conflict, tell stories of peace and reconciliation. Also, up-to-date images of Hanoi and the rural countryside, from an American woman who's lived and worked among the Vietnamese.
Friday December 6 Prisons
96-03-24-A Watch the nightly news and it's hard not to be terrified by crime, so legislators all over are drafting tougher crime laws. But did you know that our crime rate has actually dropped over the last decade? In this hour, why new prisons may be a collosal mistake. Also, how some kids go bad, and the remarkable success of a rehabilitation program in New Orleans.

Monday December 9 Human Rights/Colonialism
96-12-08-A Hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees are coming home, to a country in ruins. This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, does the West have a moral responsibility to help African nations in crisis? Also novelist Jamaica Kincaid on the psychological legacy of colonialism.
Tuesday December 10 Special Kids
96-12-08-B Sales of the drug Ritalin are booming, and psychiatrists and parents face an ethical dilemma. Are millions of American children really hyperactive, or is Ritalin just a "sit-down-and-shut- up" drug? This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at the debate over Attention Deficit Disorder. Also a ten-year old whose been to college.
Wednesday December 11 Re-thinking The Sixties
96-12-08-C The Sixties have always fired passions and stirred up angry debates. Now, the decade's history is being re-written by scholars who were in diapers during the anti-war riots. This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, a new generation looks at The Sixties. Also, the tragic failure of Robert McNamara.
Thursday December 12 Martial Arts
96-03-24-C It started centuries ago, as the only defense against armed attackers, and has the same purpose today, on violent city streets. The martial arts have made their way from Asia to America, and brought with them power, focus, and not a little grace. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the purpose behind the kicks and punches. with time left for the splash they make on the big screen.
Friday December 13 Land Conservation
95-06-25-B Once it was a thrill to discover an endangered species on your land -- now many property owners dread the news. In the next hour, the contentious debate over land conservation.

Monday December 16 Re-reading the Bible
96-12-15-A Mainline American churches are losing members in droves - and some biblical scholars say the problem is "theological bunk." This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the search for the historical Jesus. Also, a poet reads the Psalms at a Benedictine abbey.
Tuesday December 17 Framing Disease
96-12-15-B What happens when a deadly plague can become a chronic disease? This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at the future of AIDS. Who you are and where you live -- could make the difference between life and death. Also, tracking the continuing fear of Typhoid Mary.
Wednesday December 18 Happiness
96-12-15-C You say you're happy because you're in love, and you like your job. New research says you'd be just as happy -- alone and unemployed. This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the discovery of "happy DNA" and why it has everyone smiling. Also, author Thomas Moore explains his enchantment with everyday life. And a history of boredom -- that won't put you to sleep.
Thursday December 19 Re-thinking Academia
96-03-31-C Coming up in the next hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the ivory tower meets the twenty-first century. As the class of 2000 makes its way through college, professors, adminstrators, students, and corporate benefactors, debate the role of American universities.
Friday December 20 Do Animals Have Morals?
96-04-07-B Fido may be cute, but does he know it's wrong to chew your slippers? Can a dog, or a chimpanzee for that matter, actually distinguish right from wrong? We'll talk with a biologist who says animals do have moral codes. Also a close look at two creatures you probably don't like, why cockroaches and scorpions are splendid in their own ways.

Monday December 23 Rethinking Christmas
96-12-22-A Christmas isn't what it used to be. And thank goodness - if you like the current holiday! This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the hidden history of Christmas. It used to be a rowdy, drunken carnival, a celebration the Puritans tried to ban. Also the real origins of Santa Claus.
Tuesday December 24 African Wildlife
96-12-22-BAfrica is home to the world's most exotic animals - from cheetahs to mountain gorillas. But an exploding human population is pushing some species to the brink of extinction. This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, how wildlife managers are revolutionizing the science, and the art, of conservation.
Wednesday December 25 Resettling the Frontier
96-12-22-C Forget the glitz of Sunset Strip and the chi-chi (Roh DAY oh) drive, Californians are heading for the hills in the Old West, but can the wide open spaces support the population boom? This afternoon at three on To the Best of Our Knowledge, resettling the frontiers. Also, how America's first naturalists tamed the wilderness.
Thursday December 26 Reinterpreting the Sacred
96-04-07-C Would you expect to find the world's most passionate love poem -- in the bible? Or that the Apostle Paul was a radical, militant -- Jew? How would you feel about a character named Adam who represents all the evil in the world? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, scholars and theologians, writers, and a therapist reinterpret scripture and reimagine the sacred.
Friday December 27 Reason/Unreason
96-04-14-B The three-hundred-year-old dogmas of scientific thinking are taking a beating these days - from New Age dowsers swinging crystals - and from some scientists themselves. This afternoon after three, To the Best of Our Knowledge looks at reason versus unreason. Also words of wisdom from Bali - a culture that doesn't draw a line between what you feel and what you know.

Monday December 30 Founding Fathers
96-07-07-A Americans argue about keeping faith with The Founding Fathers - but what do we really know about these famous men? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll take you beyond the news that George Washington had wooden teeth, or that Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. Who were they really and what do we owe our Founding Fathers?
Monday December 31 Alternative Medicine
96-07-14-B Acupuncture and herbal remedies are no longer fringe treatments -- they're big business. Millions of Americans are turning to alternative therapies to cure their illnesses, sometimes leaving conventional medicine behind. Why are so many people apparently fed up with the status quo? Tune in this hour to a discussion of alternative medicine on To the Best of Our Knowledge.

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