Of books that you may not know about of the lines. We are pleased to be at the university of pennsylvania in philadelphia this week, and we are joined by the president of the university dementia is the coauthor of this book, the spirit of compromise, white governing demands it and campaigning undermines it. President , are we a politically compromising nation . We were created in compromise. A lot of people think of the revolutionary war, which separated us from our mother country, but if you recall, i know you werent there then, but if you recall it historically speaking our Founding Fathers crafted a compromise that created the constitution. They were as polarized as any set of americans who had been throughout our country and history. There were a pro and anti slavery and yet they compromised. So, yes, we were founded in compromise. Today compromise has become more difficult than ever before. What do you mean when you talk about the uncompromising mindset . Well, we live in an era t
Was, i suppose youd call it adventurous. But this thing ruined everything. [laughter] we go far and wide, find the best writers that we can ask and bring them to albany. Its like bringing the world the a particular place. And i dont think i cant think of any other organization, even some of the better known ones in major cities that have such a regular flow of creative talent coming through and at no cost to the public. With our open door policy. We bring the literary world to albany. So all these people whose names, faces and dates, events you see are people who have come from far and wide to read to the general public here. And weve had somewhere, my most recent count now has gotten us up to at least 10 or probably 11 Nobel Laureates across the years ranging from Toni Morrison who actually used to teach at albany to most recently a South African writer, and along the way, i dont know, people like the nigerian writer, wally, or the caribbean writer derek walcott, or the irish poet, se
Ifill and we close with a different take on the story of jesus. This time, from a novelist, poet and scholar of literature jay parini. I do think the story of jesus, this great mythical story, can have transforming value in our lives. Those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill this Christmas Day brought new calls for a better world, but also, new violence. Some spent the day just trying to stay warm, while others reveled in the cold. It was all part of christmas 2013. More than 70,000 people crowded st. Peters square on christ
Ifill and we close with a different take on the story of jesus. This time, from a novelist, poet and scholar of literature jay parini. I do think the story of jesus, this great mythical story, can have transforming value in our lives. Those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill this Christmas Day brought new calls for a better world, but also, new violence. Some spent the day just trying to stay warm, while others reveled in the cold. It was all part of christmas 2013. More than 70,000 people crowded st. Peters square on christ
Found guilty of genocide and executed more than 20 years ago. This time, the defendant is a former prison guard who is said to have committed cruelty stirring the communist era decades ago. Its the first time that romanias Justice System is actually tackling this chapter of the countrys past. The sounds of footsteps in this corridor or are still familiar. For 12 years, he was imprisoned in a tiny cell and a notorious prison. Opposed the romanian regime. All of that is 50 years ago now, but he remembers every day of it. They were animals. They humiliated us, kicked us with their boots, beat us with clubs for no reason. Between 1957 and 1958, we were tortured every day. The animals he means our men like this one a former prison boss, now 88 years old. Hes the first romanian prison worker to be tried for crimes under the communist regime. Hes being held personally responsible for the deaths of several inmates in the 1950s and 1960s. On innocent. I was just a lowly official. Im innocent. F