KPCC: Dinner Party Download

One For the Road: The XX, "Basic Space"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Britain's The XX make minimalist sensual slowcore. Best listened to AFTER the dinner party. (If you know what we're saying.)

Main Course: Thanksgiving Centerfolds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Brendan talks to Eat Me Daily's Paula Forbes about the swimsuit edition of food magazines -- the Thanksgiving issue.

Guest of Honor: Julian Casablancas

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Frontman for The Strokes goes solo. Talks with Rico about polyrhythms, 90210 and Charlie Chaplin.

History Lesson with Booze: The Edsel and "The 2 Billion Dollar Pony"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

This week back in 1960, the last Edsel automobile rolled off Ford’s assembly line. Now the folks at your dinner party may know the car was a failure. But they probably won’t know how big, and why. Michelle Philippe’s back from vacation to tell the tale.

Small Talk: The Perfect Cow, Eggo Shortage, The Thin Green Line

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The staff of Marketplace shares their favorite offbeat news stories from the week.

One For the Road: Deep Purple, "Hush"

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

In October 1968, Deep Purple's cover of Joe South's "Hush", reached #4 on the US Billboard chart. It's from their their debut album Shades of Deep Purple, and it kicks ass.

Main Course: Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals"

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Author Jonathan Safran Foer made a huge debut with his bestselling novel "Everything Is Illuminated." His new book, "Eating Animals," is a thoughtful non-fiction argument for vegetarianism and against factory-farmed meat. This week he and Rico try to figure out why so many meat-eaters find "vegetarian" a four-letter word.

Guest of Honor: Laura Veirs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Laura Veirs has seven more albums than you do, and she's filled them with lush indiepop tunes filled with natural imagery. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists calls her forthcoming release, July Flame, "The best album of 2010." This week she tells Brendan about her pact with her producer/boyfriend, the joys of deep breathing, and why the new album's a peach.

History Lesson with Booze: King Tut's Hut and "the Tamarind"

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

This week back in 1922, the entrance to King Tut's tomb was discovered. Financed by an English Lord-turned-failed-amateur-excavator, it was the most perfectly-preserved Egyptian tomb ever discovered. Listen to the story of the dig and its aftermath... then embalm youself with a cocktail named after one of the Middle East's most delectable fruits. Click the link above for the recipe.

Small Talk: Hockey Line Cut, Space Hotels, Talking Beer

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The staff of Marketplace shares their favorite offbeat news stories from the week.

Icebreaker: Stewart Brand

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Back in the '60s and '70s, Stewart Brand spearheaded the hippie "back to the Earth" movement as editor of the infamous National Book Award-winning "Whole Earth Catalog." In the '90s he founded pioneering social network The Well. And these days he's busy angering many of his former colleagues with a new book, "The Whole Earth Discipline," in which he argues environmentalists should embrace nuke power and GMO's. For us, he found a joke in a haystack.

One For the Road: The Swimmers, "One Hundred Hearts"