Yes, it was handpainted by my wife, and this is nothing like it in the world. She can campaign so might thais and we went to antarctica for a cruise, so this was my christmas present. So we were sitting millions of penguins. This was a wonderful gift. I love the way that they look so clumsy on the land like clumsy little humans. In the naked underwater and they are phenomenally fast for me wouldnt believe how quickly they can swim through the water and the streamlining is just beautiful. So like elephants, they are astonishingly fast and they jump out of the water and then they come back in again. Your First Successful book made you a rather controversial figure. But also along with christopher hitchens, you really made the word atheist acceptable and i think before that, people were ashamed to say that they were an atheist or they were embarrassed and as you pointed out before, you cant run for office in this country if you are an atheist or say that you are not a believer. But i know
She interviews Richard Dawkins about his later book the memoirs an appetite for wonder. This program is about an hour. Host richard i cant help but notice and admire your tie which has paid went on it. Is there a significance to that a biological significance . Guest its handpainted by my wife as all of my ties are. She paints ties and this is a oneoff tie. Theres nothing else like it in the world. We went to antarctica last christmas on a cruise and we spent christmas on a boat together so this was my christmas present. We were seeing millions of penguins and this was a wonderful present from her. Host do you have a particular interest in penguins . Guest i love penguins. They are astonishing animals the way they fly underwater. They are so clumsy on land and then they get underwater and they are phenomenally fast. You wouldnt believe how quickly they can swim through the water. Streamlining is beautiful and so like dolphins they are astonishingly fast in the do the dolphin thing. The
Im going to turn it right over to curtis. Im a longtime admirer of curtis white. Published in harpers magazine and on the Editorial Advisory Board is a quarterly and they turned to him for wisdom in darkness which often comes over me and im going to let him begin by explaining. You want him to talk as much as possible and so you can set up the premise of the book and then i have a few stray questions that i will ask you if the silence falls. Well, from what i can tell so far one of the things that people out there whoever they are, readers, journalists, want to know was why i decided to write this book. Im a novelist and not a Science Writer and the answer to that question is familiar for me but curious probably for everybody else. [laughter] i just had to turn it off. Sorry, okay. As has happened more than once in my writing lifetime i was driving in the car, listening to npr and i just happened to hear a think it was on fresh air for those of you who know my book the middle mind. You
You can imagine an exsenator, an older gentleman, she is young and beautiful, and its going to go to trial. And it does, and its a scandalous trial. There are voodoo us who testified that they have helped sarah hill, the once testifying for sharon are saying yet, she was trying to gain his heart so had her do whatever. In her defense though, they would say yes, she did that stuff but she was doing it to hang onto her husband. So the trial was really a crazy circus of an affair. In the end she is going to win at the state level, she will be granted a divorce. Well, at that point she marries david terry, her attorney. But now it goes to the federal court, and steven field, the Supreme Court justice is the circuit judge out here, he comes out and goes all the way to him. He wants a contract and those letters. He said thereve been testimony at the state trial, some experts had said oh, they are forgery. Others have said they are authentic. It depends on who they were testifying for. Now he
Some severe difficulties internal difficulties. The woman happened to say to me all this presley died of that. I went why . One thing led to another and i spent a day with Elvis Presleys doctor and learned about the kings troubles with severe. Host who was his doctor . Guest dr. Nick megapolis. Host what was that like . Guest it was the anniversary of elviss death. There was a gathering of all the hardcore fans who come to graceland and so they were all milling around. He was doing a memorial tribute and whenever to this house which is the house that elvis had built for him way back when in the 70s. Dr. Nick and i sat around in the living room with this wonderful 1970s at the time very posh place. A great read rooms and we sat there. Dr. Nick here and his wife aetna edna would be the furniture was quite far apart and i would lean down to put my coffee and id have to get up slightly to get the coffee cup down. Dr. Nick and i talked about elvis and every now and then edna would pop up wi