Saturday, September 27, 2008 | print version

Richard Dawkins on The Nerve

at CBC Radio Two

Richard Dawkins will be on Part 4 of The Nerve on CBC Radio Two at 12 noon, Saturday September 27 and Sunday September 28 on CBC Radio One at 8.00pm.

The series begins Saturday, Septempber 6th on CBC Radio Two at 12 pm and Sunday the 7th at 8pm on CBC Radio One across Canada and online at http://www.cbc.ca/radio.

The Nerve: Music & the Human Experience

beginning September 6th, 2008 at 12pm on CBC Radio Two; available for on-demand listening until September 2009 at the show's website: http://www.cbc.ca/thenerve. Spread the word on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24250258113&ref=share

Music is found in every culture worldwide. It's our constant companion, from birth through childhood, love, marriage and death. It has a starring role on every stage of the great human drama - whether we are at war or at prayer, by ourselves or with others, happy or sad - music is there. But does it really have a purpose? Where does it come from? And why does it have such power over our hearts and minds?

Taking a look at the How and Why of music, the team that brought you the Peabody Award-winning series The Wire: the Impact of Electricity on Music brings you a new series, The Nerve: Music & the Human Experience.

It's a 6-part series of hour-long radio documentaries, hosted by Jowi Taylor, featuring the same innovative production style as The Wire and over 40 interview guests including Daniel Lanois, Zakir Hussain, Bruce Cockburn, Howard Shore, Tanya Tagaq, Richard Dawkins, William Orbit, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Daniel Levitin, and David Harrington and a whole slew of really interesting people.

The Nerve is divided into the following six installments:

1. Wired for Sound (Music & the Brain)
2. In the Key of DNA (Music & Evolution)
3. The Pipe, the Drum & the Thunder Run (Music & War)
4. Enchanted, Entranced (Music & Spirituality)
5. myTunes (Music & Identity)
6. Sentimental Journey (Music & Emotion)

Although the series will debut on Canadian radio, if you're not in Canada, you can still listen in, and I don't just mean by listening to the live stream online in realtime - that's because you can hear The Nerve on-demand, online, the Monday following its radio broadcast. You will be able to do so at the show's website, here: http://www.cbc.ca/thenerve

Each episode airs on CBC Radio's "Inside the Music" on Saturday at 12 pm local time (1 AT, 1:30 NT) across Canada on CBC Radio Two and repeats on Sunday at 8 pm local time (8:30 NT) across Canada on CBC Radio One, and simultaneously at both times online at cbc.ca/radio, available for streaming worldwide. And as I've mentioned, if you miss it, fear not! Beginning the Monday after each episode has aired, you can listen online at cbc.ca/thenerve from each episode's dedicated page. At least, that's what they've promised me, and although part of me won't believe it till I see it on Monday, as far as I know, that's the way it will be.

That also means that if you're so inclined, you can actually share The Nerve with like-minded folks. Once again, the website is http://www.cbc.ca/thenerve, and if you're on Facebook, there's an Event for the show: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24250258113&ref=share