The On The Bookshelf Podcast

review--2 beautiful and insightful books on how art forms our spirit and our heart

Terry Glaspey's two recent books:

“Discovering God Through the Arts: How We Can Grow Closer to God by Appreciating Beauty & Creativity” and

“75 Masterpieces Every Christian should Know: The Fascinating stories Behind Great Works of Art, Literature, Music and Film"

both from Moody Press. Art informs , inspires, challenges, teaches us. It makes us more empathetic, more in touch with God the Creator, more in awe of Him.

interview--experienced educator Josh Beach takes a hard look at accountability metrics

Why do we give standardized tests (and what good are they)? Why do we treat students like clients or products? Why are administrators and coaches making so much more money than teachers? And why aren't teachers allowed to say what students need to learn? JM Beach looks at all these issues with his two-book series, 
"Can we Measure what Matters Most? why educational accountability metrics lower student learning and demoralize teachers" and "The Myths of Measurement and Meritocracy: why accountability metrics in higher education are unfair and increase inequality", both from Rowman & Littlefield.

interview--Comedy writer Martha Bolton on Bob Hope & GIs in WWII

"Dear Bob" by Martha Bolton and Linda Hope (Bob's daughter) shows the incredible mutual admiration society that American military forces all over the world had for Bob Hope and he had for them. Hope responded personally to letters from GIs he got all during the war, tens of thousands of them a month. If a GI asked him (while he was performing at a base or ship or camp) to call the GI's family, Hope would do so when he got back to the states. He never said "no" to a request for his USO team to visit any bunch of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, nurses or military hospitals anywhere in the world. It's an amazing and inspiring account from his first female comedy writer and his daughter, who worked through a room full of boxes to choose the letters they reproduce in this new book from the University Press of Mississippi.

interview classic--What was it like that first Christmas of the war in America?

Historian Stan Weintraub did a series of books about Christmas during wartime. This focused on how American responded when Christmas came 3 weeks after the Pearl Harbor sneak attack.

interview--Scott Ryan on the iconic TV series ”Moonlighting”

It's one of the very best TV shows ever, with an incredible small cast, wonderful writing, inspired satire, incredible tension between the male and female leads, Bruce Willis in his breakout role before movie stardom, Cybil Sheppard after her movie stardom as she triumphs on her first TV series, Alyce Beasley as the delightful Miss Dipesto, and Curtis Armstrong   as her love interest, all with a killer theme song by Al Jarreau. who could ask for anything more? so why did it crash and burn after such extreme highs and rabid fandom? Learn all the inside stories, good and bad, I this book.