Classical 95.9-FM WCRI

07-08-24 New York Times bestselling authors Joanne Leedom-Ackerman and her son Elliott Ackerman - Ocean House Author Series

Join Ocean House owner, actor, and bestselling author Deborah Goodrich Royce for a conversation with New York Times bestselling authors and mother/son duo Elliott Ackerman and Joanna Leedom-Ackerman. They discuss their books: Joanne Leedom-Ackerman’s The Far Side of the Desert and Elliott Ackerman’s 2054.
About the Authors: 
Elliot Ackerman is the author of the novels Halcyon, Red Dress in Black and White, Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, Green on Blue, and the memoirs The Fifth Act and Places and Names. His books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the National Book Award, the Andrew Carnegie Medal in fiction and nonfiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a Marine veteran, having served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart.
About 2054:
From the acclaimed authors of the runaway New York Times bestseller 2034 comes another explosive work of speculative fiction set twenty years further in the future, at a moment when a radical leap forward in artificial intelligence combines with America’s violent partisan divide to create an existential threat to the country, and the world
It is twenty years after the catastrophic war between the United States and China that brought down the old American political order. A new party has emerged in the US, holding power for over a decade. Efforts to cement its grip have resulted in mounting violent resistance. The American president has control of the media but is beginning to lose control of the streets. Many fear he’ll stop at nothing to remain in the White House. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. After an initial flurry of misinformation, the administration reluctantly announces his death. A cover-up ensues, conspiracy theories abound, and the country descends into a new type of civil war.
A handful of elite actors from the worlds of computer science, intelligence, and business have a fairly good idea of what happened. All signs point to a profound breakthrough in AI, of which the remote assassination of an American president is hardly the most game-changing ramification. The trail leads to an outpost in the Amazon rainforest, the last known whereabouts of the tech visionary who predicted this breakthrough. As some of the world’s great powers, old and new, state and nonstate alike, struggle to outmaneuver one another in this new Great Game of scientific discovery, the outcome becomes entangled with the fate of American democracy.
Combining a deep understanding of AI, biotech, and the possibility of a coming Singularity, along with their signature geopolitical sophistication, Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis have once again written a visionary work. 2054 is a novel that reads like a thriller, even as it demands that we consider the trajectory of our society and its potentially calamitous destination.
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Her works of fiction include Burning Distance, The Dark Path to the River, and No Marble Angels. She has published PEN Journeys: Memoir of Literature on the Line and was the editor for The Journey of Liu Xiaobo: From Dark Horse to Nobel Laureate. Former International Secretary of PEN International, she is a Vice President of PEN International and a former board member and Vice President of PEN American Center. She serves on the boards of Refugees International, the International Center for Journalists, the American Writers Museum, and Words Without Borders and is an emeritus director of Poets and Writers, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, and Human Rights Watch and an emeritus trustee of Brown University and Johns Hopkins University. Joanne is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Texas Institute of Letters. A former The Christian Science Monitor reporter, Joanne has taught writing at New York University, City University of New York, Occidental College, and the University of California at Los Angeles extension.
About The Far Side of the Desert: A terrorist attack—a kidnapping—the ultimate vacation gone wrong Sisters Samantha and Monte Waters are vacationing together in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, enjoying a festival and planning to meet with their brother, Cal—but the idyllic plans are short-lived. When terrorists’ attacks rock the city around them, Monte, a U.S. foreign service officer, and Samantha, an international television correspondent, are separated, and one of them is whisked away in the frenzy.
The family mobilizes, using all their contacts to try to find their missing sister, but to no avail. She has vanished. As time presses on, the outlook darkens. Can she be found, or is she a lost cause? And, even if she returns, will the damage to her and those around her be irreparable?
Moving from Spain to Washington to Morocco to Gibraltar to the Sahara Desert, The Far Side of the Desert is a family drama and political thriller that explores links of terrorism, crime, and financial manipulation, revealing the grace that ultimately foils destruction.
 

06-06-24 Mission - A Walk In The Park

In this week's A Walk In The Park with Jane Andrews, Jane talks about getting busy before it's too late.

06-09-24 Coffee Milk Opera Company - Conducting Conversations

This week, Coffee Milk Opera Company is the program's subject, with Krista Wilhelmsen, Co-founder and Artistic Director. We listen to music from the company and talk about its first season and the plans for two concerts in September. For more information, you can email coffeemilkopera@gmail.com or go to www.coffeemilkopera.com.
 

06-07-24 Vocalist Diane Reeves - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Vocalist Diane Reeves from her 1991 Blue Note Records recording “I Remember.”

06-01-24 The Music of Anime & R.I. Anime Con 2024 - WCRI‘s Kids Hour

On this month's episode of WCRI's Kids Hour, host Jamie and Skylar listen to music from Anime and discuss the upcoming R.I. Anime Con!
 

06-01-24 The Seasons and Grandview Gardens in East Greenwich - The 95.9 Company Break

This month, The 95.9 Company Break welcomes Lisa Toth - Marketing Director of The Seasons, and Ashley Leonardo of Grand View Gardens. The Seasons in East Greenwich is a special not-for-profit assisted living residence offering traditional assisted living and memory care neighborhoods. Founded in 2002, The Seasons has continued the legacy of excellence established by their founders, Steere House Nursing & Rehabilitation Center and Scandinavian Home. As a not-for-profit organization, they are focused on the quality of care and services they provide to their residents versus the daily pressures to increase “the bottom line” by owners or investors. All resources are invested into their community and used to increase staffing, improve facilities, and enhance services or activities.
Grandview Gardens at The Seasons is a safe and caring neighborhood for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other memory impairments. We’ve created a therapeutic environment where our compassionate, professional, and experienced staff works to provide understanding, support, and encouragement to residents and their families. Their goal is to facilitate independence, comfort, and security while surrounding your loved one with a sense of belonging and community.
For more information, call (401) 884-9099 or visit theseasons.org

05-30-24 Pandemonium - A Walk In The Park

In this week's A Walk In The Park with Jane Andrews, Jane talks about how old skills come back to us.

06-02-24 Narragansett Bay Symphony Community Orchestra - Conducting Conversations

The Narragansett Bay Symphony Community Orchestra is the subject of this week's program with John Eells, Founding Music Director, and Ivan Kirschner, Past President. We talk about their upcoming concert and listen to some of the music that will be presented on June 9th at the GAMM Theater. For more information, you can call (401) 274-4578 or go to www.nabsco.org

05-31-24 Vocalist & Pianist Diana Krall - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe features Vocalist and Pianist Diana Krall from her 1997 Impulse Records recording “Love Scenes.” 

05-25-24 Texas Shade: The Founders' Oak - This Old Tree

Host Doug Still introduces you to The Founders' Oak in this month's episode of This Old Tree. The Founder's Oak in New Braunfels is a "Famous Tree of Texas." The 300-year-old live oak has given shelter to a Spanish Mission, a German Prince who brought thousands of settlers, old Texas families that date back to the Alamo, and the Comanche Nation. Its rich cultural history includes a new designation as a "Comanche Marker Tree." What is it about this tree's history that mirrors the founding of Texas itself?

05-23-24 Cartoons - A Walk In The Park

In this week's A Walk In The Park with Jane Andrews, Jane shows there is humor in nature.

05-24-24 Saxophonist Stanley Turrentine - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Saxophonist Stanley Turrentine from his 1961 Blue Note Records recording titled “Blue Hour.”
 

05-26-24 Theatre by the Sea's A Chorus Line - Conducting Conversations

Theatre By The Sea's opening production of the 2024 season, A Chorus Line, is the subject of this week's program, with Josh Walden, director, and Amanda Lamotte, who plays the role of Bebe. We talked about the musical and listened to some of the very popular songs from the show. For more information, you can call (401) 782-8587 or go to www.theatrebythesea.com

05-18-24 New York Times bestselling authors Susannah Marren, Laura Zigman, and Dara Levan - Ocean House Author Series

Join Ocean House owner, actor, and bestselling author Deborah Goodrich Royce for a conversation with New York Times bestselling authors Susannah Marren, Laura Zigman, and Dara Levan, who will be discussing their novels, new in paperback.
About the Authors: 
Susannah Marren is the author of Between the Tides, A Palm Beach Wife, A Palm Beach Scandal, and Maribelle’s Shadow. Susannah has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Elle, and Marie Claire and has appeared on national television, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS, CNN, and MSNBC. Several of her titles have been optioned by Lifetime and HBO. She has served as a literary panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts, as a judge for the International Emmys, and as Vice Chair of the Mentoring Committee of the Women’s Leadership Board at the JFK School of Government, Harvard. Her featured novel is Maribelle’s Shadow. 
About Maribelle’s Shadow: When her adored and impressive husband, Samuel, dies suddenly, the secrets and lies between Maribelle and her sisters rise to the surface. Compounding the anguish, the authenticity of their socially ambitious mother and lavish lifestyle of mansions, privilege, and couture clothes is thrown into doubt.
Each sister realizes she must fend for herself as their carefully constructed image unravels. The pathway out is steep and worth any risk. Until the winner takes all.
Laura Zigman is the author of six novels, including Small World, Separation Anxiety (which was optioned by Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie Someone Like You, starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard’s New York Times bestseller, Believe Me; been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post; produced a popular online series of animated videos called Annoying Conversations; and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she helps clients via Zoom, phone, and sometimes in person with their writing. Her featured novel is Small World. 
About Small World
A year after her divorce, Joyce is settling into being single again. She likes her job archiving family photos and videos, and she’s developed a secret comforting hobby: trolling the neighborhood social networking site, Small World, for posts that help solve life’s easiest problems. When her older sister, Lydia, also divorced, calls to tell her she’s moving back east from Los Angeles after almost thirty years away, Joyce invites Lydia to move into her Cambridge apartment. Temporarily. Just until she finds a place of her own.
But their unlikely cohabitation—not helped by annoying new neighbors upstairs—turns out to be the post-divorce rebound relationship Joyce hadn’t planned on. Instead of forging the bond she always dreamed of having with Lydia, their relationship frayed. They rarely discuss the loss of their sister, Eleanor, who was significantly disabled and died when she was only ten years old. When new revelations from their family’s history come to light, will those secrets further split them apart or, of course, correct their connection for the future?
Written with wry humor and keen sensitivity, Small World is a powerful novel of sisterhood and hope—a reminder that sometimes you must look back to move ahead.
Dara Levan is the creator and host of Every Soul Has a Story, a podcast in which she interviews inspiring people from around the globe. Her calling to impact others began at the age of twelve in her hometown of North Miami Beach, Florida, when she interviewed the nursing home residents where her grandmother lived and wrote their stories. As an undergrad at Indiana University, Dara earned a BA in English and pursued a career in journalism but decided to pivot and return to South Florida to earn her MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Dara stopped practicing speech therapy to return to full-time writing. Actively involved in her community, she is currently a board member of the Community Foundation of Broward and a board member of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation/Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Community Foundation of Broward. Dara served as a board member of the Goodman Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Broward County and Junior Achievement of South Florida. She is also a founding member of the Circle of Friends for the Alvin Sherman Library Research, Information, and Technology Center at Nova Southeastern University. Dara is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Women’s National Book Association, and the Authors Guild. Her featured novel is It Could Be Worse.
About It Could Be Worse
Mired in self-doubt and blind loyalty, Allegra Gil suspects her charmed life may be a gilded cage. She has a devoted husband, Benito, two loving children, a thriving therapy practice, and lifelong friends. But when a surprising discovery in a piano bench reveals a shocking family secret, Allegra questions everything she thought she knew about the two people who raised her. Was it true? Did her father, a respected pediatric neurosurgeon, harm instead of heal? And Allegra’s mother—how much did she know?
As the past threatens the present, Allegra plays the song of what was, what is, and what may never be in this “powerful and poignant story about letting go” (Jean Meltzer, international bestselling author of The Matzah Ball).
Composed with the cadence of a waltz—up, up, down—through flashbacks to childhood memories in Miami and a music camp in Michigan, It Could Be Worse is a heartwarming, at times heart-wrenching, multigenerational story of a woman supported and embraced by many while shaken to the core by a few. “The gorgeous prose and raw, unflinching narrative both heal and inspire. A stunning debut.” (Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of Woman on the Edge)
For more information about the authors, please visit Susannah Marren, Laura Zigman, and Dara Levan. For information on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit www.deborahgoodrichroyce.com

05-19-24 Music on the Hill - Conducting Conversations

Music On The Hill is the subject of this week's program with Emily Atkinson, the festival's Executive Director. We talk about their upcoming concerts and listen to some of the music from the programs presented from May 27th to June 8th. For more information, you can call 401-738-5632 or go to www.musiconthehillri.org

05-17-24 Saxophonist Phil Woods - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Saxophonist Phil Woods from his 1991 Chesky Records recording, “The Little Big Band; Real Life.”
 

05-16-24 Coexistence - A Walk In The Park

In this week's A Walk In The Park with Jane Andrews, Jane observes nature & coexistence.

05-11-24 Award-Winning Author Jeffrey Blount - Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way - Ocean House Author Series

Join Ocean House owner, actor, and bestselling author Deborah Goodrich Royce for a conversation with award-winning author Jeffrey Blount. Blount discusses his latest novel, Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way. About Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way: James Henry Ferguson doesn’t belong here. After a highly publicized fall from grace, James attempts to flee from the chaos in his life. He ends up in a community he had never heard of before, one that has been neglected and ignored by everyone in rural Ham, Mississippi. A place of abject poverty, the neighborhood is commonly referred to as “Around the Way.” Within a place forgotten by the rest of the world, politics can be a dangerous game. When a troubling discovery is made, the entire neighborhood is rocked to its core and James is forced to confront his own past in order to help the community have a future. He will have to find the strength to fight for the neighbors he once disregarded and avert a heart-breaking disaster. A self-identified failure is forced to uncover the wisdom of his past in order to recognize that money can’t solve every problem. Full of never-ending twists and turns, no one can prepare themselves for the surprises in store. Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way is a story about failure, self-discovery, empowerment, and the possibility of redemption.
For more information about Jeffrey Blount, please visit www.jeffreyblount.com For information on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit www.deborahgoodrichroyce.com
 
 

05-09-24 Oriole Encounter - A Walk In The Park

In this week's A Walk In The Park with Jane Andrews, Jane talks about an encounter with an Oriole who wanted things just so.

05-10-24 Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater from her 2000 Verve Records recording titled “Live At Yoshi’s.”