Posted on December 7th, 2011

Thanks to everyone who has made a gift to KLRU during our drive so far! We’re at $107,000 as of this morning and getting closer to our goal of $240,000.  If you haven’t made your gift yet, then tonight is the night for you: we’ll be live in the studio with an encore presentation of Ken Burns’ Prohibition and we’ll be offering tickets to the first ever KLRU Drink Up, a tour of local distilleries and breweries for KLRU donors!

The tour is a great representation of what Austin has to offer! We’ll board a bus at KLRU then head out for tours (and tastings!) at Live Oak Brewery, Tito’s Vodka, Treaty Oak Rum, and wrap up the afternoon with food and drink at BlackStar Co-op – a great selection of local business, innovation, and delicious beverages. The Drink Up is Saturday, February 4.

For your gift of $150, you’ll receive two (2) tickets to the Drink Up (which includes the price of the tastings and food), plus the Prohibition DVD set and the book, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent. The Drink Up would make a fantastic gift or a great outing for a group of friends – be sure to tune in tonight at 7pm for all the details.

Bonus: We’ll also have the Tipsy Texan, David Alan, live in the KLRU Studios tonight mixing up the best holiday cocktails and giving away tickets to tomorrow night’s Drink Local Austin event! Tell your friends and be sure to watch!

Posted on November 28th, 2011

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Nick Lowe
DATE: December 1
TIME: 2:00 p.m. (Doors open at 1:30)
LOCATION: in KLRU’s Studio 6A (map).
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Nick Lowe has been writing, performing and producing music for four decades, exploring folk, pop, rockabilly and punk.  He produced the song known as Britain’s first punk single.  But he’s far better known for his own music – performed by Lowe himself, and by a long list of well-known musicians who count themselves among Lowe’s fans.  If you who think you don’t know Lowe, you most certainly know his songs.  Among his best known are “Cruel to Be Kind” and “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding” – a huge hit for Elvis Costello.  If you’re a Nick Lowe fan, join us for what you know will be a great conversation.  If you only know his songs, let us introduce you to the artist.

Join us as part of  Overheard with Evan Smith’s second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor.  The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. Overheard airs on KLRU at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays. Episodes are also available online at klru.org/overheard

Posted on November 28th, 2011

Can Women Change Politics? The Life and Politics of Ann Richards

January 31 at 6:30 pm @ The Moody
Buy tickets at klru.org/spark

Texas Governor, mother and larger-than-life personality, Ann Richards had a lasting impact on the nation’s political landscape. Only the second woman to be elected governor in Texas, she possessed a strong will, and a determined spirit. Actress Holland Taylor, University of Texas Documentarian Paul Stekler, and Dallas Morning News Reporter Wayne Slater share their experiences portraying, documenting and covering Ann Richards throughout her life.

Holland Taylor, an Emmy-winning actress, has enjoyed a long and varied career, with respected roles on stage, in movies and on television. Fans will recognize her work from The Practice, The Truman Show, Romancing the Stone, Two and a Half Men and The L Word. Her play, Ann, about Governor Ann Richards, had its launch in May 2010 at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston and was also performed at Austin’s Paramount Theatre.

Paul Stekler’s documentaries about American politics have won numerous national honors including multiple Emmys, Peabodys and du-Pont-Columbia Journalism awards. His documentary work inncludes George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire, Vote for Me: Politics in America, Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style and Frontline’s The Choice 2008. He is currently the Chair of the Radio-Television-Film Department at The University of Texas. He’s currently working on a film about New Orleans five years after Katrina, Getting Back to Abnormal.

Wayne Slater, Senior Political Writer for The Dallas Morning News, previously served as Austin bureau chief for The News covering national and state politics. He is a Fellow at the LBJ School’s Center for Politics and Governance at the University of Texas. He is a frequent guest on numerous network television shows and is co-author of two books Bush’s Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential and The Architect: Karl Rove and the Dream Absolute Power.

Be sure to join us on January 31st, for an insightful discussion about the role of women in politics as Holland Taylor, Paul Stekler, and Wayne Slater share their ideas on how women can play a valuable and influential part in the political world.

Posted on November 15th, 2011

Join KLRU and the Austin Public Library for free Community Cinema screenings on the first Tuesday of the month at the Windsor Park Branch Library (5833 Westminster Dr,). Screenings will start at 7 p.m. with a discussion to follow each of the films. The next screening will be Lioness on December 6.

Lioness
How did five female Army support soldiers–mechanics, supply clerks and engineers–end up fighting alongside the Marines in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq War? Directors Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers give an intimate look at war through the eyes of the first women in U.S. history sent into direct ground combat, despite a policy that bans them from doing so. Through harrowing personal stories, these women candidly share their experiences in Iraq as well as from their lives back home to form a portrait of the emotional and psychological effects of war.

Posted on November 4th, 2011

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Jim Lehrer on November 16 at 3:00 p.m. in KLRU’s Studio 6A (map). Doors open at 2:30 p.m. The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Jim Lehrer is well-known to PBS fans as the Executive Editor and longtime anchor of the PBS NewsHour, successor to the long-running MacNeil/Lehrer Report. But in addition to his career as an award-winning journalist, he can add presidential debate moderator, novelist, playwright and now author of the new book Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain. After starting his career as a print reporter in Dallas, Lehrer worked for that city’s PBS station before moving to Washington, DC. With Robert MacNeil, he led continuous live coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings, winning an Emmy for their work and launching a long partnership. Lehrer’s new book takes us inside the eleven presidential debates he has moderated during the last six presidential elections, sharing his experience as “the man in middle seat.” Tension City also describes the interviews Lehrer has conducted with candidates over the past 20 years about their debate experiences. Join us for a conversation with the “Dean of Moderators.” Our in-studio audience will have an opportunity for Q&A with the guest following the interview.

Overheard with Evan Smith is now in its second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. We hope you’ll be there for the second season of this exciting program. Overheard airs on KLRU at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays. Episodes are also available online at klru.org/overheard

Posted on November 4th, 2011

UPDATED WITH NEW TIME
Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Bill Moyers on November 14 at noon in KLRU’s Studio 6A (map). Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

Bill Moyers is an American journalist who has been honored for “daring to assume that viewing audiences are willing to think and learn.” For three decades, his work has asked meaningful questions and explored ideas at the forefront of the public debate. Before beginning his broadcasting career, Moyers worked as White House press secretary and Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, and also served as Deputy Director of the Peace Corps during the Kennedy Administration. Moyers is a graduate of The University of Texas, and also holds a Master of Divinity degree – a connection to the themes of faith that some of his work has explored. In January, Moyers will launch his newest series to be offered to PBS stations, to be called Moyers & Company. You’ll learn about that program and hear about Moyers’ career during our interview. Our studio audience will have an opportunity for Q&A with Moyers afterward.

Overheard with Evan Smith is now in its second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. We hope you’ll be there for the second season of this exciting program. Overheard airs on KLRU at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays. Episodes are also available online at klru.org/overheard

Posted on October 26th, 2011

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with John Hodgman.

DATE: November 8
TIME: 4 p.m. (Doors open at 3:30 p.m.)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A (map).
The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

John Hodgman works as a PC in commercials, appears on The Daily Show as the program’s Resident Expert, maintains a startling number of online sites and also writes books. He’s in Austin to publicize his latest book, That Is All, described by the publisher as a guide to COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE. (Yes, the caps are theirs.) The book is described by us as laugh-out-loud funny but otherwise completely indescribable. Join us in the studio to hear what Hodgman has to say.

Overheard with Evan Smith is now in its second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. We hope you’ll be there for the second season of this exciting program.

Posted on October 26th, 2011

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Len Downie, Jr.

DATE: November 1
TIME: 1 p.m. (Doors open at 12:30 p.m.)
LOCATION: KLRU’s Studio 6A
RSVP: The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP now

For seventeen years, Downie served as executive editor of The Washington Post, succeeding Ben Bradlee in that position. The paper won 25 Pulitzer
Prizes during his time in that position. Downie began his 44-year career with the paper as an intern in 1964, holding a wide variety of positions and helping to supervise the Post’s coverage of Watergate as deputy metro editor. He now teaches journalism at Arizona State University. In addition to his work as a journalist, Downie has published five books, including four works of non-fiction and one novel.

Join us for Overheard with Evan Smith’s second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. We hope you’ll be there for the second season of this exciting program.

Posted on October 20th, 2011

Why Can’t We Be Friends? Fostering Civility in Political Dialogue

November 14 at 6:30 pm at The Moody
Buy tickets here

In a world of fragmented media with a thousand choices for news, information and opinion, citizens can now chose to see, hear and read only what supports their position. With the media saturated culture of today, it is more important now than ever to learn how to take part in civil discourse. Mark McKinnon from Public Strategies, Matthew Dowd from Vianovo, Inc., and William Galston from the University of Maryland, discuss how to foster civility among Americans when political polarization is the norm.

Matthew Dowd has helped shape strategies and campaigns for CEOs, corporations, governments, candidates and presidents. Dowd was Chief Campaign Strategist for President George W. Bush and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and was on the staff of a Democratic Senator and two Democratic Representatives. He has counseled scores of high-profile organizations – from AT&T to the NBA – on marketing, advertising, research, public issues, and advocacy. He is an analyst for ABC News, columnist for The National Journal and author of The New York Times bestseller Applebee’s America.

Mark McKinnon has been helping solve complex strategic challenges for causes, companies and candidates, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong and Bono. McKinnon has helped engineer five winning presidential primary and general elections. He has been awarded more than 30 Pollie and Telly awards, honoring the nation’s best political and public affairs advertising. He is co-founder of No Labels, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting more bipartisanship and civility in politics.

William A. Galston holds the Ezra Zilkha Chair in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program, where he serves as a Senior Fellow, and is a College Park Professor at the University of Maryland. From 1993 until 1995 Galston served as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy. Galston is the author of eight books and more than 100 articles in the fields of political theory, public policy, and American politics. His most recent books are Liberal Pluralism, The Practice of Liberal Pluralism and Public Matters.

Be sure to join us November 14th, for an insightful discussion about  fostering civility in a politically polarized society as Mark McKinnon, Matthew Dowd, and William Galston share their ideas on how we can better understand the benefits to creating an environment for civil discourse.

Posted on October 13th, 2011

EDIT to show new time. Taping now starts at 2:15 p.m. instead of 2:45 p.m.

Please join KLRU’s Overheard with Evan Smith for an interview with Russell Banks on October 23, 2011 at 2:15 p.m. in KLRU’s Studio 6A (map). Doors open at 1:45. The event is free but an RSVP is required. RSVP Now

Russell Banks is an award winning and best selling writer of novels, poetry and short stories. His work has been translated into twenty different languages, and two of his novels — Affliction and The Sweet Hereafter — have been made into feature films. Banks is known for stories that are shaped by his working-class childhood, and for writing with empathy and humor even when his characters and stories turn tragic. Lost Memory of Skin, Banks’ newest work, was published late last month. We thank the Texas Book Festival for bringing Banks to town.

Join us as Overheard with Evan Smith launches a second season of great conversation with fascinating people, always on the news and always with a sense of humor. The show features in-depth interviews with a mix of guests from politics, the arts, literature, journalism, business, sports and more, and reaches PBS stations from California to Florida. We hope you’ll be there for the second season of this exciting program.Overheard airs on KLRU at 7 p.m. Thursdays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays. Episodes are also available online at klru.org/overheard