Charlotte Talks on WFAE

The City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are working together with more than 100 governments and organizations in the 14-county region in North and South Carolina to develop a framework for growth. There's a 3- year initiative in place to figure out the needs of our region and to ensure that the region can fulfill those needs, including jobs, transportation, housing, air quality and much more. We'll talk with leaders from around the region about "CONNECT Our Future" about how it can benefit our area, when Charlotte Talks.

Part One: Oz With Orchestra. John Goberman is an Emmy-Award-winning producer and creator of Live From Lincoln Center. He's also on the forefront of a new merging of film and concert presentation called symphonic cinema. We'll talk about he's working with the Charlotte Symphony to bring a live orchestra together with a big-screen presentation of The Wizard of Oz, and how this art form is being received around the country.
Guests
John Goberman - Emmy-Award-winning producer and creator of Live From Lincoln Center. He is also the creator of A Symphonic Night at the Movies, including Oz with Orchestra with the Charlotte Symphony.
Maestro Albert George Schram - Guest Conductor with the Charlotte Symphony. He also currently serves as Resident Staff Conductor of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Resident Conductor of the Nashville Symphony.

• Oz with Orchestra, a pairing of The Wizard of Oz with live musical accompaniment by the Charlotte Symphony is Saturday Feb. 2 at the Belk Theatre, 2:30pm and 8pm. Details.

Part Two: The Secret Garden. The Children's Theatre has long been known for its ambitious offerings to children of all ages but the current production may be one of the most ambitious yet. The Secret Garden may feature a child but the complex and richly layered Broadway Musical is a massive production to present. Interim Artistic Director Michelle Long has taken on the task in the midst of other changes at the theatre. We'll visit with her and longtime Executive Director Bruce LaRowe to see how the theatre is handling change and the plan to move forward, when Charlotte Talks.
Guests
Michelle Long - Director, The Secret Garden, interim Artistic Director, Children's Theatre of Charlotte
Bruce LaRowe - Executive Director, Children's Theatre of Charlotte

• The Secret Garden is at Children's Theatre's McColl Family Theatre now through Feb. 10th. Details.
• More about the Broadway production of The Secret Garden 
  

Eat like a caveman. That's what some doctors are recommending. Stick to lean meats, fruits and vegetables. Cut out refined grains and sugar. Dr. Philip Goscienski is one of them, the "Stone Age Doc" says our cavemen ancestors had the right idea and if we followed the simple ways they lived by, we'd live healthier, longer lives. We'll talk with him about that and meet the founder of a local company who's helping people do just that. Is "paleo" an effective movement towards a healthier life or the oldest fad diet of all time? And in a fast-food, pre-packaged world, can we really cut out sugar and grains? We go back to the cave, when Charlotte Talks.

Our state's mental health system has long been anchored by three major psychiatric hospitals, but those institutions were designed for long term care. Patients needing short term care were falling through the cracks. In 2008 the NC State legislature provided funding for a new program called "Three Way Contracts." The program implements a system utilizing the state, local mental health management entities (also called LMEs), and hospitals across the state. We'll check in on this program to see if it’'s addressing short term mental health needs and helping to take pressure off the psychiatric hospitals in North Carolina.

  Sports have become big business in Charlotte, but the financial aspects of at least two of our local teams have been the source of controversy. Jerry Richardson, Owner of the Carolina Panthers, has asked the city— - which means taxpayers - to fund $125 million in stadium renovations. Meanwhile the Charlotte Knights are set to build an uptown baseball stadium; also a move met with mixed reactions. We’'ll look at that latest coaching moves, the likely economic costs of these most recent proposals and more when Charlotte Talks.

TV shows like Glee and the High School Musical movies have brought musical theater back to popularity in high schools across the country. Standout students are even recognized for their work at the "Jimmy" Awards on Broadway. We'll meet a choreographer who, among other major projects, works with award-winning students and has been featured in a new PBS documentary following high school musical theater students, including two from Charlotte. We'll also learn how Charlotte is contributing to high school musical theater excellence, when Charlotte Talks.

We have long wondered if we were alone in the universe. We’ve sent probes far out into space, landed on the moon and are now exploring Mars in detail. We may yet find signs of life on one of the planets in our solar system but nearly every day, scientists are finding planets around other suns in other parts of our galaxy and beyond. In fact, planets are becoming a dime a dozen but might any of them have life? Answering that riddle is the daily quest for Dr. Ray Jayawardhana. He joins us to talk about what he has found.

  The North Carolina Eugenics program that ended in 1974 has been the subject of efforts by state officials to compensate victims for the forced sterilization that occurred here from 1929-1974. Former Governor Mike Easley formally apologized for the actions of state leaders from that time several years ago, but reparations efforts have so far failed. Some of the arguments in the reparations debate were that paying the victims will not right the wrong that had been done to them. Today, we'll discuss the ethics of reparation, and whether today's generation has an obligation to right the wrongs of previous generations.

In all the gloom and doom that surround talk of our global economy these days, our guest today, economist Philip Auerswald, sees a ray of hope. That hope lies in developing societies and in entrepreneurship, and possible pathways to what he calls "The Coming Prosperity." We'll talk with Mr. Auerswald about his book by that very name and about his optimistic look at the future of the global economy.