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    For four consecutive years Shirley Temple was the world’s box-office champion, a record never equaled. By early 1935 her mail was reported as four thousand letters a week, and hers was the second-most popular girl’s name in the country.

What distinguished Shirley Temple from every other Hollywood star of the period—and everyone since—was how brilliantly she shone. Amid the deprivation and despair of the Great Depression, Shirley Temple radiated optimism and plucky good cheer that lifted the spirits of millions and shaped their collective character for generations to come. In The Little Girl Who Fought The Great Depression: Shirley Temple And 1930s America, distinguished cultural historian John F. Kasson shows how the most famous, adored, imitated, and commodified child in the world astonished movie goers, created a new international culture of celebrity, and revolutionized the role of children as consumers.

    In The Visit, her Williamstown Theatre Festival debut, Broadway legend Chita Rivera embodies Claire Zachanassian, the oft-widowed richest woman in the world, who returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth. The locals pray that her wealth will bring them a new lease on life, but the carefully plotted renewal she offers carries a dreadful price.

Sardonic and morally complex, The Visit asks: What can your heart afford?

Rivera is joined by Roger Rees, Jason Danieley, and Judy Kuhn and directed in this Kander and Ebb musical by John Doyle.

Here she speaks with Joe Donahue about working on the show, her reverence for a productions creative team, and keeping her sense of humor - always.

  Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, Newsman Ray Graf and Political Consultant, Libby Post.

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses the Berkshire Ramblers, the New York Times discussing federal regulation on marijuana, Gov. Cuomo making an economic announcement today, and a teacher tenure lawsuit being filed by parents.

Here's NewsChannel 13 Meteorologist Paul Caiano's WAMC Regional Forecast:

Mostly cloudy and humid today with showers and thunderstorms likely.  Highs in the mid 70's.

Showers and storms this evening, then some clearing overnight tonight with areas of fog. Lows in the mid to upper 50's.

A mix of sun and clouds tomorrow.  Highs in the lower to mid 70's.

MLB:

Frank Thomas choked back tears, Joe Torre apologized for leaving people out of his speech, and Tony La Russa said he felt uneasy. Thomas, pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, and managers Bobby Cox, Torre, and La Russa were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday, and all paid special tribute to their families before an adoring crowd of nearly 50,000.

Monday, July 28
 
Dr. Sam Maglio of The University of Toronto Scarborough explains how sounds influence interpretation.

Tuesday, July 29
 
Dr. Elizabeth Cirulli of Duke University discusses the contagiousness of yawns.

Wednesday, July 30

Michigan State University's Dr. Jason Moser takes a look at the psychology of optimism.

A lawsuit against a school district in Westchester County over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act has been settled.

What better, for summer reading, than the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

New York’s two U.S. senators have announced funding for an airport in the Hudson Valley.