ALBANY, NY – May 20, 2013 - This Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, WAMC Northeast Public Radio will adjust its regular program schedule to broadcast several special radio events touting the unique American spirit.
Beginning at 9:00 AM, WAMC is proud to present the following:
9 – 11:00 AM: Willie Nelson radio documentary, My Own Peculiar Way
My Own Peculiar Way celebrates the career of one of America’s most beloved singer/ songwriters, Willie Nelson, who celebrated his 80th birthday last month. In this two-hour special, Willie’s decades-long career is explored through music and stories from the man himself, as well as commentary from the friends, artists and crew members who knew him best.
The program, named after the 1969 compilation of many of his greatest tunes, begins with a full-broadcast of each of the hits of this classic album. In between, listeners will learn about Willie’s life, his best known songs, and how the two are often intertwined. Then at 10 AM, the tribute will continue with True Outlaw Stories. In this hour, Willie Nelson's longtime band, touring crew and close friends look back on 40 years of life on the road, and on the life of an everyman’s renegade who became an American icon.
11 – 12 Noon: Shakespeare in American Life w/Sam Waterston
WAMC is pleased to present one of America’s finest actors and friend of WAMC, Sam Waterston, in a compelling conversation about one of the history’s most renowned playwrights, William Shakespeare, in Shakespeare in American Life with Sam Waterston. From the very beginning, Americans have sought to make Shakespeare an honorary citizen. Whether we have succeeded in that or not, one thing is clear: on the stage, within the realm of performance, Americans have certainly made Shakespeare our own, bringing to the performance of Shakespeare American passion, American language and American innovation.
12 Noon – 1:00 PM Midday Magazine with Brian Shields
WAMC's award-winning daily news magazine show brings the listener the latest in local, national and world news.
1 – 2:00 PM Radiolab
An NPR favorite that weaves stories and science into sound and music-rich documentaries.
2 – 3:00 PM: The Power of Words: A Day of Infamy w/Author Joseph Persico
WAMC President and CEO Alan Chartock joins best-selling author and biographer Joseph Persico for the first in a series of conversations about the impact and influence of the words we choose.
Once the primary speech-writer for New York’s Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Persico has gone on to achieve success and critical acclaim as a biographer, historian and novelist for works such as: Nuremburg: Infamy on Trial; Edward R. Murrow: An American Original; Piercing the Reich: The Penetration of Nazi Germany by American Secret Agents During World War II; My American Journey (biography of Colin Powell, co-written by Persico), and The Spider Web.