The Roundtable

William Bryant Logan -part of this weekend’s Rensselaerville Festival of Writers- has written about oak and dirt and now he has a new book, out next month, about the air. It is entitled: Air: The Restless Shaper of the World.

In this week’s Classical Music According to Yehuda, Alan Chartock and Yehuda Hanani continue their discussion of the aspects of a great performance.

This listener essay is by Mel Quinlan.

The Berkshire Theatre Group is staging the world premiere of Kelly Masterson's, Edith – a play about first lady, Edith Wilson. The show run July 31-Aug. 11. Tony nominee, Jane Atkinson, will star in the title role as Edith Bolling Wilson, with Jack Gilpin as President Woodrow Wilson. We learn more from playwright, Kelly Masterson, and director, Michael Sexton.

Primary day in the Bay State is rapidly approaching. In today’s Congressional Corner, Massachusetts representative Richard Neal tells WAMC’s Alan Chartock that he is doing well in his new district.

Bard SummerScape's production of Emmanuel Chabrier's rarely produced opera, The King in Spite of Himself (Le Roi Malgré Lui) opens tonight in the Sosnoff Theater at the Richard B. Fisher Center. We learn more about the opera from accomplished director, Thaddeus Strassberger, and world-class Soprano, Nathalie Paulin.

Millions of Americans will tune into the Olympic Games, the largest and most popular sporting event in the world, over the next few weeks. Just in time, David Goldblatt and Johnny Acton have created a fun guide to the rules, strategy, and history of each Olympic event. We will learn, How to Watch the Olympics, with Goldblatt & Acton.

WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum, the author of a new book on the 1992 USA men's basketball team called Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever.

London's "Olympic Stadium" looks to impress the world as all eyes are set upon it this evening during the opening. We talk NPR sports commentator, John Feinstein, about his Olympic thoughts and new book, Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics.

Alan Chartock is joined by Marc Mellon, who is currently serving as master sculptor-in-residence at Chesterwood, the estate of Daniel Chester French. He will deliver a public lecture at Chesterwood July 29th at 3 p.m.