Program 416: Irish Legacy of Michael Collins; Boxing with Cuba; Katrina Plus Ten

Release Date: 08-22-2015

Description

Journalist Gary Rivlin tells us how he's seen New Orleans change in the 10 years since Hurricane Katrina. Also, Brin-Jonathan Butler describes what a decade of training with Olympic boxing elites in Havana showed him about life in Cuba, and why he's now barred from returning. And hear how the nearly century-old legacy of an Irish revolutionary leader still evokes dissention among his countrymen.

Guests

  • Stephen McPhilemy, tour guide and innkeeper based in Dingle, Republic of Ireland and in Derry, Northern Ireland  
  • Barry Moloney, tour guide based in Kinsale, Ireland
  • Brin-Jonathan Butler, author of "The Domino Diaries" (Picador) 
  • Gary Rivlin, author of "Katrina - After the Flood"  (Simon & Schuster)

Related Links

  • Michael Collins' Wikipedia entry.  
  • Kilmainham Jail in Dublin is an important heritage site for understanding Ireland's emergence as an independent nation.   
  • Barry Moloney conducts historical walking tours of his hometown, Kinsale.
  • Stephen McPhilemy operates the Milltown House on the Dingle Harbour in the Republic of Ireland.    
  • Brin-Jonathan Butler's documentary "Split Decision" is about Cuban boxing legend Guillermo Rigondeaux and the decisions Cuban boxers have had to make about their lives and careers.
  • Gregorio Fuentes, whom Brin describes meeting at age 103, was the inspiration for Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea."  The New York Times wrote a tribute to Fuentes after he died in 2002. 
  • Information for visiting the time warp Hemingway House Museum, near Havana.
  • Gary Rivlin is an investigative journalist for The Nation.  His new book about New Orleans, ten years after the Hurricane Katrina flooding, is called "Katrina:  After the Storm," and is published by Simon and Schuster.
  • Tauck Tours continues to include tours of the Ninth Ward in its New Orleans itinerary, for visitors to understand how the city was affected by the post-Katrina flooding, and what repairs still remain to be done.

Program Extras

More with Gary Rivlin - Journalist Gary Rivlin describes what it was like to try to report on New Orleans in the weeks following the Hurricane Katrina flooding, and the issues people dealt with in rebuilding their damaged neighborhoods. (runs 8:52)