American Lives, American Promise ~ Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, Studs Terkel [audio 60min]

1) Harvey Kaye talks with Steve Paulson about visionary founding father Thomas Paine. Kaye's book is Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Kaye asserts that Paine made the case for a new egalitarian kind of government. Also, Charles Monroe-Kane prepared a profile of singer/songwriter Neko Case, a country singer who's haunted by the American Dream. Her latest solo album is called The Tigers Have Spoken. 2) Ron Powers is the author of Mark Twain: A Life. He tells Jim Fleming that Samuel Clemens was an energetic and passionate man who traveled the world and created a new American idiom. He had an eye for detail, a keen ear for dialogue, and no use for the pomposities of the old world. 3) Studs Terkel has come out with a new book at the age of 93. It's a collection of interviews with some of his favorite musicians including Leonard Bernstein, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, and Janis Joplin. Studs talks with Steve Paulson about the power of music, we hear examples of some of his favorites, and excerpts from some of his classic interviews. His book is called And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey.