Charlotte Talks on WFAE

Like television before it, the Internet has been credited with being an influence on all sorts of things since it became a mainstream part of our lives - good and bad. Our guest this hour has been writing about technology, including the Internet, for years, and his latest book addresses what the Internet may be doing to our brains - re-mapping, re-programming, changing the way we think and learn!

Charlotte is more than just one city, it is a region comprised of many cities and towns and one of them, Davidson, is now the subject of a book chronicling the history of the town. One Town, Many Voices is the work of Davidson College Professor of History, Ralph Levering, and college Archivist Jan Blodgett and incorporates the experiences and voices of a wide range of people. The authors share what they've learned about Davidson - from its beginnings.

Today on Charlotte Talks, Mike Collins and our panel of food writers discussed their favorite restaurants around town. We jumped all over from the latest in Charlotte craft beer to ethnic cuisine to new and old favorites. We've got a list of all the restaurants mentioned on the show. We were scribbling feverishly so you didn't have to! You can listen to the restaurant roundup with food writers Helen Schwab, Patricia Childress and Heidi Billotto here. 

There’s a global race on right now where technology and innovation are concerned and America is in danger of “losing” that race. While other nations around the world are strategizing to prioritize technology and innovation to better their economies, our guests today say that America lacks in innovation policy and that this may be what contributed to the Great Recession and to our slow recovery. We’ll learn the importance of innovation with the authors of Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage.

Kathy Reichs is famous internationally, not just for her crime novels featuring Temperance Brennan - a fictional character, but who is a forensic anthropologist, just like Reichs herself - but also for the Fox TV show “Bones,” based on the same character. Kathy Reichs is also a Charlottean and a UNC Charlotte Professor and she’ll join us to talk about the work she’s doing in Charlotte and around the world, with her writing, the TV show and we’ll hear how writing has become the family business for Reichs and her children.

Fall is a time for festivals - this weekend the Festival of India celebrates the culture and food of that country. Last Spring, we visited with several Indians who have made their home here. We talked about the transition and what they’ve done to make Charlotte home. We’ve invited them back, this time to talk about how you can enjoy their festival. We’ll talk about art and dance and - Indian food - among other things.

Fall is in the air and so are a variety of balls. Footballs are being slung on fields all over America and right down the street at Panther Stadium. So are baseballs as the major league season rounds third and heads for home. Basketballs will be bouncing soon in Time Warner Arena and on Tobacco Road. Fall begins a very busy professional and college sports season and we’ll take a look at the Panthers, Bobcats, Hurricanes hockey and we’ll also check in on the progress of UNC Charlotte football and the prospect of uptown baseball.