WCQS' special programming begins Wednesday, Nov. 27 with celebrations for Thanksgiving and Chanukah.
Be sure to check back often for updates. From all of us at WCQS, have a happy and healthy holiday season.
Wednesday, Nov. 27
2 pm CANDLES BURNING BRIGHTLY
Join hosts Mindy Ratner and Bill Morelock for a one-hour celebration of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. There's plenty of music from Jewish communities around the world, plus an exploration of holiday traditions, and a special story reading by the incomparable Theodore Bikel.
7 pm: TURKEY Q & A and the Real Story of the First Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving Special - America’s Test Kitchen talks to the experts to investigate the true beginning of Thanksgiving. We’ll be tasting turkey, and we’ll find out what’s hot and what’s not in the world of kitchen gadgets. Then we’ll head into the test kitchen to answer the top ten Thanksgiving day questions from stuffing to brining to perfect pie crust.
Thursday, Nov. 28
11 am: THE SPLENDID TABLE’S TURKEY CONFIDENTIAL
Turkey Confidential is the live, two-hour, call-in program on Thanksgiving Day for public radio listeners across the nation.
On Thursday, November 28, help is on the way for Thanksgiving cooks, kitchen helpers and dinner guests on this, the biggest cooking day of the year. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, award-winning host of public radio's national food show The Splendid Table®, will be available to answer listener questions throughout the live, two-hour program. Quickly becoming a Thanksgiving morning tradition, past shows have included everything from a cross-country trucker cooking his Thanksgiving dinner on the manifold to a panicked first-time cook who didn't realize a turkey needs to be thawed. Lynne handles all questions with wit, expertise and laughter.
Featuring:
- Mario Batali - Since the opening of Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca in New York City in 1998, Mario Batali has pursued a simple cooking philosophy: use the best local ingredients as simply as possible and serve them with flourish and joy. He and Joe Bastianich have created a successful restaurant and culinary empire that spans New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Singapore, and Hong Kong. A multiple James Beard award-winner and author of nine cookbooks, Mario is one of the most recognized and respected chefs worldwide and is co-host of ABC Daytime's lifestyle series "The Chew".
- Alexandra Guarnaschelli - The daughter of esteemed cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli, Alexandra's culinary travels have led her to positions at Guy Savoy and La Butte Chaillot in Paris; to restaurant Daniel and the Manhattan standard in New York; and to Patina in Los Angeles. Chef Guarnaschelli is a recurring judge on the popular primetime series "Chopped" on the Food Network, and is featured on her own shows, "The Cooking Loft" and "Alex's Day Off".
- Michael Pollan - For the past twenty-five years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment. He is the author of Cooked:A Natural History of Transformation and of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (2010); In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (2008); The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World (2001). In 2003, Pollan was appointed the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, and the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. In addition to teaching, he lectures widely on food, agriculture, health and the environment.
1 pm: GIVING THANKS: A CELEBRATION FALL,FOOD and GRATITUDETwo wise, witty women join us at the table: Julia Sweeney, celebrated writer and actor. She’s best known from Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me! and Saturday Night Live. But Sweeney’s memoires and monologues on faith give her humor a deep human touch that’s perfect for Thanksgiving.
Anne Lamott, best-selling author of Bird by Bird and Operating Instructions. Her latest book Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers offers the perfect spirit of gratitude, gentle humor, and a call to embrace the gift of family and friends.
Classical music is the heart and soul of the original Giving Thanks. This year features a tribute to Bach, including Simone Dinnerstein; Eric Whitacre’s gorgeous setting of e.e. cumming’s i thank You God for most this amazing day; and Dawn Upshaw sings Maria Schneider’s breathtaking new setting of Winter Morning Walks by Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, who introduces the poem.
Between the music, no clichés about pilgrims and pumpkin pies. Instead, it’s a contemporary celebration of the spirit of Gratitude. And continuing a Giving Thanks tradition shared by 300 APM stations: a spellbinding story from actor Charles Laughton, giving thanks for Art that connects us all to the creative spirit.
Whether you are in the kitchen, on the road to a family gathering, or relaxing after the feast, Giving Thanks provides the perfect atmosphere for Thanksgiving: the warmth of great music, and truly memorable words.
Friday – 11/29
1 pm: CHANUKAH IN STORY AND SONG
Narrated by Leonard Nimoy and sung by the acclaimed vocal sextet The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, "Chanukah in Story and Song" is a unique holiday program created especially for public radio listeners.
This delightfully engaging program presents 25 eclectic selections, from the Ladino songs of the Spanish Jews and Yiddish melodies of Eastern Europe to modern Israeli tunes and the ensemble's original version of "I Have a Little Dreydle." The ensemble performs a cappellaas well as with instrumental accompaniment. The narration, written by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, sheds new light on the holiday's customs and rituals.
Monday - 12/2
10 am: ETERNAL ECHOES OF HANUKKAH
Host James David Jacobs joins together with violinist Itzhak Perlman and and the New England Conservatory’s Hankus Netsky, a pioneer in the revival of klezmer music, to explore the musical common ground of Jewish sacred music from diverse cultures. Featuring performances by Itzhak Perlman in new, unique arrangements by Netsky, the director of NEC’s acclaimed Contemporary Improvisation department and the founder of the world -renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Wednesday – 12/4
7 pm: ETERNAL ECHOES OF HANUKKAH
Host James David Jacobs joins together with violinist Itzhak Perlman and and the New England Conservatory’s Hankus Netsky, a pioneer in the revival of klezmer music, to explore the musical common ground of Jewish sacred music from diverse cultures. Featuring performances by Itzhak Perlman in new, unique arrangements by Netsky, the director of NEC’s acclaimed Contemporary Improvisation department and the founder of the world-renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band.
