KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Love may have blossomed over 40 years ago at Deering High School where Judie and Morrell York met. But it blooms at Independent Death Care, where this couple, just finding each other again and newlywed, tend to the dead and the families that loved them. Listen to 'Til Death Do Us Part , produced by Sara Archambault. It's one of several stories we'll air by students at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies .

Michele Ernsting talks to leading Arab intellectual Fouad Ajami (Director of Middle Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University) about "The Cairo Trilogy," one of the most important works of literature by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz . Mafouz, who died August 30, 2006, is the only Arab to have received the Nobel Prize for Literature . He was a dissident, who suffered a serious stabbing by Islamic extremists in 1994. He was considered to be one of the most influential Arab writers of the 20th century. To learn more about Mahfouz, here are links to his obits: BBC World Service , Guardian and New York Times .

Set sail in search of the White Whale. Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" survived its battle with Captain Ahab only to surface in the works of contemporary filmmakers, painters, playwrights and musicians. Host Kurt Andersen explores the influence of this American icon, with the help of Ray Bradbury, Laurie Anderson, Tony Kushner and Frank Stella, among others. This two-part special was produced by Studio 360 and won a Peabody award. Studio 360 has done several shows on American icons, including Superman, Great Gatsby, Wizard of Oz and the Lincoln Memorial. Here's the link to the Moby-Dick page .

A tribute mix to the Godfather of Soul, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business and Soul Brother #1 -- James Brown. Featuring interviews with Don Cornelius, Dave March, Sammy Davis Jr, Harry Weinger, Mike Douglas and of course with James Brown himself. Montages of all his hits and much more ...

There are cat shelters for unwanted calicos and Siamese. There are dog shelters for discarded beagles and shepherds. Less well known are bird shelters for abandoned cockatoos and cockatiels. KFAI’s Hilde de Roover visited a Midwest Avian Adoption and Rescue Services (MAARS) in the Twin Cities, learning about the people who care for captive birds. Listen to her documentary (“The Parrots Who Landed on MAARS”) at 7 p.m. on July 23.

Forty years ago, in 1967, pop radio listeners were hearing a new sound from the top band of the time, and some say, of all-times, the Beatles. Like many of the songs on Revolver, The Beatles daring and inventive album from 1966, the single released in the spring of 1967 shook things up as well. The recording sessions that would eventually in result their landmark Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band also produced what some call the greatest single of all-time. Reporter Paul Ingles assembled a panel of musicians, writers and fans to recall what was noteworthy about Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane. Listen to Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane at 7 p.m. on July 16 on the Listening Lounge.

In October 1957, American poet Allen Ginsberg was hanging out in Amsterdam jazz cafes. At the same time in San Francisco, a Federal Court judge ruled that his poem "Howl" was not obscene. The work became a rallying cry for the movement known as the Beat Generation with its famous opening line: "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness..." Fifty years later, with more than a million copies in print, Howl continues to inspire artists and activists. David Swatling of Radio Netheralnds explores the origins of one of the most celebrated and controversial poems of the 20th century and discovers its striking relevance to the world today. Angel-Headed Hipster's Howl airs 7 p.m. on Monday, July 9 on KFAI.