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The Sunday Magazine

Fascism; France's right vs. hard right; Restoring the world's oldest library; Massive landfill becomes park

Michael's essay - What we mean when we talk about fascism: The term is being thrown about a lot since the election of Donald Trump and the rise of the right in Europe. Here's an excerpt: "Fascism demands a frustrated middle class and a contempt for the weak and less fortunate. Its followers must feel humiliated by the wealth and force of their real or imagined enemies. Another definition of elites perhaps?" A tough choix? French voters stuck between the hard right and the ultra-hard right: Last weekend, the conservative Republican party in France chose François Fillon as its presidential candidate. With the Socialists in the electoral toilet and Hollande not running for re-election, he may be the only candidate with a chance to win against the National Front's Marine Le Pen in the coming spring election. Writer and broadcaster Agnès Poirier sets the scene. The world's oldest functioning library was founded by a woman and has been restored by a woman: Architect Aziza Chaouni has just completed a 4-year project to restore the Al-Qarawiyyin library in the Moroccan city of Fez. It was founded in the year 859. 150 million tons of reeking garbage now holds up a park: Fresh Kills on Staten Island, the largest landfill in the world. was once home to filthy, slimy, stinking mountains of household trash. The only wildlife it attracted was rats, maggots and scavenging gulls. Now, the place called Fresh Kills is a rolling savannah filled with birds, animals, and soon, with people. Alisa Siegel's documentary is called "What's Down Below." Listener mail: Love for libraries, and anger about pedestrian fatalities Music this week by: pianist Valerie Tryon, the all-female folk group "Quartette", guitarist Rachel Gauk, the "Million Dollar Quartet", the Crew Cuts and George Gershwin
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Michael's essay - What we mean when we talk about fascism: The term is being thrown about a lot since the election of Donald Trump and the rise of the right in Europe. Here's an excerpt: "Fascism demands a frustrated middle class and a contempt for the weak and less fortunate. Its followers must feel humiliated by the wealth and force of their real or imagined enemies. Another definition of elites perhaps?"

A tough choix? French voters stuck between the hard right and the ultra-hard right: Last weekend, the conservative Republican party in France chose François Fillon as its presidential candidate. With the Socialists in the electoral toilet and Hollande not running for re-election, he may be the only candidate with a chance to win against the National Front's Marine Le Pen in the coming spring election. Writer and broadcaster Agnès Poirier sets the scene.

The world's oldest functioning library was founded by a woman and has been restored by a woman:  Architect Aziza Chaouni has just completed a 4-year project to restore the Al-Qarawiyyin library in the Moroccan city of Fez. It was founded in the year 859.

150 million tons of reeking garbage now holds up a park: Fresh Kills on Staten Island, the largest landfill in the world. was once home to filthy, slimy, stinking mountains of household trash. The only wildlife it attracted was rats, maggots and scavenging gulls. Now, the place called Fresh Kills is a rolling savannah filled with birds, animals, and soon, with people. Alisa Siegel's documentary is called "What's Down Below."

Listener mail: Love for libraries, and anger about pedestrian fatalities

Music this week by: pianist Valerie Tryon, guitarist Rachel Gauk, and a quintet of quartets.. the all-female group "Quartette", the Four Lads, the Quatuor Arthur-Leblanc, the Bill Coon Quartet, and the one and only performance from an impromptu jam session by four young rock-and-roll giants -- that became known as "The Million Dollar Quartet"

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