Hour 1
The United States has been at war with the Taliban of Afghanistan for almost 9 years, yet most Americans know very little about them. A new book, "My Life with the Taliban," by Abdul Salam Zaeef, is the first autobiography and first-person account of the birth of the Taliban in the "mujahudeen's" successful revolt against the Soviet invasion, as well as the first insider look at the Taliban government that was overthrown by the Northern Alliance and U.S. forces in 2001. Zaeef was the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, and was locked up for four years in Guantanamo Bay. The men who convinced Zaeef to tell his story are ALEX STRICK VAN LINSCHOTEN and FELIX KUEHN, the translators of Zaeef's book. They also wrote a gripping piece about their lives as the only Westerners living unprotected in Kandahar, the heart of the Taliban insurgency, in a recent "Foreign Policy" article, titled, "See You Soon, If We’re Still Alive."

Filed under: author, military, politics, world |

Hour 2
Is Philadelphia a national leader as a creative economy? The Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts seemed to think so upon his recent visit to Philadelphia. We'll look at the state of local non-profit community arts organizations with CARMEN FEBO SAN MIGUEL, Executive Director of North Kensington's community arts workshop Taller Puertorriqueño; JANE GOLDEN, the Mural Arts Program Director and LORENE CARY, writer and founder of Art Sanctuary, the non-profit lecture and performance series in North Philadelphia.

Filed under: arts |