Program 476a: American Women's History Sites; Diana Nyad; Wilderness Healing

Release Date: 07-06-2019

Description

Brent Glass, former director of the National Museum of American History, recommends places you can visit to commemorate the women who changed American history. Then endurance swimmer Diana Nyad tells us how she set a world record when she swam from Havana to Key West. And naturalist Gary Ferguson describes how the fierce nature of the wilderness can be a setting for both tragedy and healing.

Guests

  • Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Brent D. Glass, author of "50 Great American Places" (Simon and Schuster)
  • Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, author of "Find a Way" (Vintage)
  • Naturalist Gary Ferguson, author of "The Carry Home" (Counterpoint)

Additional Info

  • Brent D. Glass formerly headed the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and has written a road trip guide to a variety of significant American history sites in his book "50 Great American Places."
  • Among the places to visit that Brent discusses are The Women's Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, New York; Harriet Tubman's home in nearby Auburn, New York; the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, Connecticut; and the Willa Cather Foundation at her prairie homesite in Red Cloud, Nebraska.
  • Information about Diana Nyad's book "Find a Way" is on her website.
  • Diana writes in the Huffington Post about joining President Obama's entourage to Cuba in 2016.
  • Diana's latest project, EverWalk, is to encourage sedentary Americans to walk more often.
  • Gary Ferguson has written two dozen books on nature, science and culture, and is a member of the National Geographic Lecture Series. The Wildwords website summarizes Gary's works and speaking schedule.
  • Gary will release a new book, "The Eight Master Lessons of Nature," in October 2019, as a manifesto for those longing for a more meaningful connection with the natural world.

Program Extras

More with Diana Nyad - Diana Nyad talks about her latest venture, EverWalk, which is an initiative to get Americans walking more. Rick also asks her about the tattoo she got when she finished her swim to Florida, and a caller from Dallas asks how Diana funded her historic swim. (runs 6:41)