RTÉ Radio
Myles Dungan presents new RTÉ Radio 1 series from California’s Highway 101
From Saturday, 7 July well-known broadcaster Myles Dungan will present a new series on RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday mornings, Highway 101.
Highway 101 snakes along the length of California and it is on this road that Myles Dungan has been travelling for the last few months, meeting some of the most interesting minds in the Golden State. His new interview programme features those who defy a more conventional view of America such as 60s activist Tom Hayden, Robert Reich; a member of Clinton’s Camelot, Native American Madonna Thunder Hawk, journalist Lowell Bergman and others including environmentalists, writers, campaigners and thinkers.
Myles’ guests also choose music, film clips and poetry that have inspired them over the years.
Myles first guest on Saturday, 7 July is Bob Baer. Bob Baer’s life as a CIA operative has been made into the film Syriana, starring George Clooney. He joined the CIA in the 1970s, when, straight out of university, being a member of the organisation meant you assumed different identities, infiltrated terrorist groups and loosened the tongues of informers; all in the name of keeping America safe. He attempted, and failed, to involve the Clinton administration in a plot to overthrow Saddam Hussain and eventually left the CIA disillusioned and discouraged. He talks to Myles about his life inside the CIA and how Ireland is a haven for those who need top-secret information.
The other guests in the series are:
Lowell Bergman – 14 July
Lowell Bergman is a Pulitzer winning journalist who is best known outside the States for his role in the investigation into the tobacco industry which was told in the film The Insider.
Robert Reich – 21 July
Robert Reich’s life has been linked with that of the Clintons since his school days but he famously went on to become Secretary of Labour under President Bill Clinton
Alice Waters – 28 July
Alice Waters is one of the most influential chefs in the world and owner of Chez Panisse, which has been named best restaurant in America.
Tom Hayden – 4 August
Tom Hayden is said to be the single greatest figure of the 1960s student movement and remains to this day a social and political campaigner. He is most famous for his role in the anti-war and civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s, along with his then-wife Jane Fonda.
Dan Cassidy – 11 August
Irish-American Dan Cassidy, a teacher in the Liberal New College in the Mission District of San Francisco, talks to Myles about his music, the atmosphere of America in the 1960s, performing in Carnegie Hall and how the Irish invented slang.
Madonna Thunderhawk – 18 August
Madonna Thunderhawk is a veteran of many Native American political struggles. She grew up on the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota, was also involved in the siege at Wounded Knee in 1973 and has a lifelong commitment to the survival of her cultural heritage.
Inez Fung – 25 August
Inez Fung is one of the world’s leading authorities on global warming and Professor of atmospheric science at the Berkeley Institute of the environment.
Amy Tan – 1 September
Amy Tan is one of the world’s most popular authors. Her novels include best-sellers The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, The Hundred Secret Senses and The Kitchen God’s Wife.
RTÉ Radio 1’s Highway 101 begins at 9.10am on Saturday, 7 July and runs for nine weeks until and including 1 September.
Ends
Date: 21 June 2007
For further information, interviews with Myles Dungan or images please contact: Sarah Martin, Senior Press Officer, RTÉ Radio, Tel: 01 208 2312 / 087 750 1850, Email: sarah.martin@rte.ie