Summary: Our guests are Brian Schultz, author of Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom; Ross Brooks, Artistic Director of People’s Branch Theatre; And Media Matters Research Fellow, Elbert Ventura and the Media Matters Smackdown!

• Part 1 - The amount of adoptable kids already outnumber qualified parents so why does one of our state legislators want to make it worse? Plus, Charleton Heston is gone but not forgotten, 50% of the students in public school in the top 17 cities don’t graduate, and John McCain wants you to know he’s old, but he’s not too old. And the Onion has the skinny on our undead President. (23:13 37MB)
• Interview with Ross Brooks - Ross Brooks is an accomplished actor and playwright who performs regularly with Tennessee Repertory Theatre, the Nashville Children’s Theatre, and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. He is also the Artistic Director of People’s Branch Theatre. His latest project is “The Antigone Cycle” which he adapted for performances at the Belcourt Theater beginning on April 10. (20:13 32MB)
• Part 3 - Did you hear that the U.S. is no closer to leaving Iraq than it was a year ago? We didn’t think so. (09:43 16MB)
• Interview with Brian Schultz Our guest is Brian Schultz, an assistant professor of education and honors faculty at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. His book, Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way: Lessons from an Urban Classroom, tells his story of when he taught in public schools and resisted the pressures of “teaching to the test” by creating a more democratic curriculum. It could be so easy… (20:54 33.6MB)
• Media Matters for America Smackdown - Media Matters research fellow Elbert Ventura tells us about another part of the “McCain Myth.” Strong on national defense? Not so much… (12:10 19.5MB)
• Part 6 - You know what else John McCain’s not so strong on? Giving Martin Luther King his props. Plus, what’s with four white guys sitting around talking civil rights on Nashville’s version of This Week with George Snuffulupagus?” (11:20 18MB)

This post was written by Liberadio(!)