Programming Archive

In this half hour of Inquiry, we welcome TRACY KRAUS, flutist, chamber musician and Executive Director of the Worcester Chamber Music Society and PETER SULSKI, violinist, violist and Artistic Director of the Worcester Chamber Music Society. These two talented musicians and educators talk about how you get a chamber music society off the ground, the rewards for an individual artist to play in a chamber music society and why, more than ever, music education is crucial for adults as well as children. The learn more about the WORCESTER CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY and to access their calendar of performances, go to: http://www.worcesterchambermusic.org/

Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, and with TOKYO VICE: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (Pantheon Books/October 13, 2009/$26.00), we have his firsthand, revelatory
look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up.

At nineteen, Jake went to Japan in search of peace and tranquility. But he quickly worked his way from student to crime reporter for the prestigious Japanese-language Yomiuri Shinbun. For twelve years of 80-hour work weeks, he covered the seedy side of Japan, where extortion, murder, human trafficking, and corruption are more prevalent than we would imagine, given that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world to live. When his final scoop brought him face to face with one of Japan’s most infamous yazuka bosses—and with it the threat of death for him and his family—Adelstein decided to step down from the newspaper. But he did fight back, and
got that story told.

TOKYO VICE tells a riveting, often humorous tale of Adelstein’s journey from an inexperienced cub reporter to a daring, investigative journalist with a price on his head. With its vivid, visceral descriptions of crime in Japan and an exploration of the world of modern-day yakuza that even few Japanese ever see, TOKYO VICE is a fascination, and an education, from first to last.

Johnny Mercer was one of the most prolific songwriters of 20th Century America. During his decades long career he wrote the lyrics for such memorable songs as “Moon River”, “Blues In the Night”, “Hooray For Hollywood”, “Laura”, “Something’s Gotta Give”. The list Mercer’s hits goes on and on. He was nominated for 18 Academy Awards and wrote songs for Broadway too. If that wasn’t enough, he was also one of the founders of Capitol Records. Tonight on Inquiry we chat with ROBERT KIMBALL, writer, music critic of the New York Post and Editor of the Complete Lyrics series of books. The latest monumental volume in that wonderful series is THE COMPLETE LYRICS OF JOHNNY MERCER. Tune in and find out who dubbed Lauren Bacall’s singing voice in “To have and To Have Not”. The answer will surprise you.

The New England waters host a variety of life that are crucial to the health of the oceans but are also endangered. Some of these like the Humpback Whale are familiar to many, while others like the Bay Scallop may not be as well known. Tonight on Inquiry we talk with natural history reporter and writer TODD McLEISH. His new book BASKING WITH HUMPBACKS: TRACKING THREATENED MARINE LIFE IN NEW ENGLAND WATERS is a fascinating collection of his experiences with the scientists studying horseshoe crabs, sea turtles and marine birds that live in our waters. Tune in and learn why you may owe your good health to a sea going arthropod!