Programming Archive

AT 9:30: Tonight on Inquiry we take a “behind the scenes” tour of one of the great museums of the world, the Natural History Museum of London. Former Senior Paleontologist at the museum, RICHARD FORTEY, takes us through the labyrinthine off limits hallways behind the public galleries of this grand institution, and introduces us to just a few of the great, and sometimes rather eccentric minds that lived and worked here. Dr. Fortey’s wonderful and rambling grand tour of the museum is titled DRY ROOM No. 1: THE SECRET LIFE OF THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM.

Tonight on Inquiry we spend a wonderful half an hour with one of the greatest living actors of stage, film and television, as well as a brilliant raconteur: CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER. Mr. Plummer talks about his early days on stage in Canada, New York, Connecticut and even Bermuda and some of the legendary fellow thespians that he had the pleasure to work with. From star turns as Hamlet and Mark Antony to character acting as a Klignon Colonel in a Star Trek film to his critically acclaimed portrait of the “Great Profile”, Christopher Plummer’s acting career has been deeply rich and wonderfully varied. Mr. Plummer’s ribald, fascinating, generous and truly entertaining account of his life on stage is IN SPITE OF MYSELF: A MEMOIR. Don’t miss this show!

PROFESSOR DANIEL J. LEVITIN, who runs the LABORATORY FOR MUSIC PERCEPTION, COGNITION AND EXPERTISE at McGill University returns to Inquiry to talk about his latest wild and fascinating book THE WORLD IN SIX SONGS: HOW THE MUSICAL BRAIN CREATED HUMAN NATURE. It is Professor Levitin’s belief that music and song may have come before human language, and that song passes down information in human society. Levitin believes that there are 6 kinds of songs that do this: songs of FRIENDSHIP, JOY, COMFORT, KNOWLEDGE, RELIGION and LOVE. Tune in tonight for a far reaching and free-wheeling discussion about how the musical brain made human society possible, why music is the perfect mnemonic tool and why listening to “Boulder to Birmingham” by Emmylou Harris makes me cry.