GREAT IDEAS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

One of the things that public radio continues to do well in the era of the sound bite is to devote time to discussing ideas. This collection of five twenty-minute interviews, originally broadcast on CBC, is an excellent example. Journalist Michael Enright talks with Charles Taylor, a professor of philosophy and political science, about three important developments in the last half of the twentieth century: the triumph of human rights, the concept of the nation state, and the death of certainty. Taylor is wonderfully unpretentious and articulate. Enright thoughtfully directs the discussion, giving the interviews some polish even though they were recorded live and not edited. D.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]