Likely Stories

This is Guilherme Feitosa de Almeida, senior lecturer in music theater at Baylor University. I'm here with this week's edition of Likely Stories.

Have you contemplated spring cleaning? When this bug hit me, I turned to the grand-master cleaner, Marie Kondo, for inspiration. This best-selling author has sold 9 million copies of her classic book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Ok, add me, Maggie McCarthy, to the ranks of readers as I set out on my decluttering journey with this instruc...

I'm Kevin Tankersley and this is likely stories on KWBU. I first learned about the book 'Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur' when I heard the author Jeff Pearlman on 'The Pete Sousa Show' podcast last year. I knew of Pearlman from his writings at Sports Illustrated and ESPN. He was a sports guy. Why would he be talking about Tupac?

I can remember a number of truly incredible meals in my life, whether cooked for me at home or in restaurants locally or while traveling. Some of the food stands out in my mind: a perfectly-cooked piece of meat, a well-crafted cocktail, a side dish that pairs perfectly with the entree, a dessert that caps off the wonderful meal. But in all those epicurean events, what I recall most are the people...

"Some books stay with you for decades. For me, that’s A Short History of a Small Place by T.R. Pearson. First published in 1985, it’s a funny, Southern tale of Neely, North Carolina, told through the eyes of young Louis Benfield, Jr. From quirky townsfolk to a chimpanzee companion, the story blends humor and heart in unforgettable ways. I first heard it on The Radio Reader in 1986—and I’ve never f...

Imagine being punched in the ovaries to bring on a fit. This is The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein, which was inspired by the dark history of the Salpêtrière asylum in the 1880s.

I am a huge James Bond fan, and never missed an episode of Charlie’s Angels as a pre-teen growing up. A story about women my age who could still fight, run, plan, take action, and do all the things they did in their early years really appealed to me.

The book that I'm reviewing today is challenging. It was an unsettling read, and I thought about it for weeks after I finished it. I hesitated to recommend it on Likely Stories. But these difficult books catch our attention for a reason, they are important to talk about and examine.

I’ve been reading a lot about Saturday Night Live lately, for a couple of reasons. First, I talk about the show when I cover the history of television in my Introduction to Mass Communication class at Baylor, and I like to keep up with what’s going on with SNL. Second, Saturday Night Live just celebrated its 50th anniversary, so there’s been plenty written about it in the last year or so.

In nineteen-ninety-five, five college friends, distraught over the suspected suicide of their friend and haunted by the question “would Alec have died had he known how much he was loved?” enter into a lifelong pact to hold living funerals.

Many times on public radio, you hear folks say, “Long-time listener, first-time caller.” Well, that’s me! I’m Maggie McCarthy—a long-time listener of KWBU—bringing you my, hopefully, first book review on Likely Stories.