Programming Archive

Did you know Isaac Hayes was only the third African-American to win an Academy Award for his score of "Shaft"? Join host Tom Shaker as he celebrates Oscar season with a soul twist. On this week's spotlight we'll look at soul songs in the movies. Break out the popcorn, it all starts at 7pm !!

The United Way of Central Massachusetts as part of the Worcester Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition, provides low- to middle- income working families in central Massachusetts with free tax preparation assistance.Tune in this Sunday evening at 10:30 when Al is joined by Tim Garvin CEO United Way of Central MASS. and find out how this program has helped thousand in and around Central MASS.

The concepts of quantum physics seem to fly in the face of everything we know about how the universe is supposed to work. Particles behave like waves. A particle can be anywhere in the universe at a later time. A particle traveling from Point A to Point B does not move in a straight line but along all possible paths. And that is just for starters. Yet this is the way the universe really works and quantum physics can predict the fate of a star or explain why a laser works. Tonight on Inquiry we talk with JEFF FORSHAW, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester. Together with Brian Cox, Professor of Particle Physics at Manchester University, they have written a new book THE QUANTUM UNIVERSE (AND WHY ANYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN , DOES) that explains these ideas and many more to show why “Quantum Theory is perhaps the prime example of the infinitely esoteric becoming profoundly useful.”

What is human consciousness and does it emerge from some particular part of our brain? Do other animals experience consciousness and is there any proof for the evolution of consciousness. These are some of the most essential and important questions of our existence. Our guest tonight on Inquiry is DANIEL BOR, a research fellow at the Sackler Center for Consciousness Science and the Department of Informatics at the University of Sussex. His new book THE RAVENOUS BRAIN: HOW THE NEW SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS EXPLAINS OUR INSATIABLE SEARCH FOR MEANING is a dynamic and fascinating review of the latest scientific discoveries in the neurosciences and what it can tell us about our experience of who we are.

In 1947,  "Folk Song USA" was published -- a compilation of 111 American ballads collected by noted musicologists John and Alan Lomax and edited by Charles and Ruth Crawford Seeger (with guitar/banjo chords by Pete Seeger). Unlike earlier, words-only collections, this book was meant to be sung! It also detailed the history of each song by sub-genre, offering valuable insights on pre-WWII American rural life. Host Nick Noble has brought together covers of many of the songs that appear in this book, recorded by dozens of talented folk artists past and present. Explore America's folk music past for four melodious hours on THE FOLK REVIVAL: and maybe even sing along!