Podcasts about speaker biography as

Aug. 30, 2014. Nick Kotz appears at the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Speaker Biography: As an acclaimed journalist and author, Nick Kotz has conveyed important stories to the American people on topics such as government corruption, national defense, civil rights and social justice. For his work as a journalist for The Des Moines Register and The Washington Post, Kotz has been honored with the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Washington correspondents, the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award and two Robert F. Kennedy awards. Kotz also received a National Magazine Award for a story about the American military. In his latest book, "The Harness Maker's Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas" (Texas Christian University Press), Kotz depicts his ancestor Nathan Kallison's journey to the United States as a Jewish Ukrainian immigrant searching for the American dream. Kotz's historical account emphasizes the struggle of Jewish immigrants in San Antonio during the turn of the 20th century and ultimately relays their significant contributions to society, culture and the economy in Texas. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6472

Nov. 20, 2013. In this interview with Howard Bass, singer and composer Flory Jagoda discusses her family and her life before, during, and after the Second World War and the influence these experiences had on her singing and songwriting. Speaker Biography: As singer, composer, and teacher of Sephardic song, Flory Jagoda has been identified as "keeper of the flame" for preserving, perpetuating, and expanding this venerable Jewish cultural tradition. A 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts, Jagoda later served as a Master Artist in the Folklife Apprenticeship Program for the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in 1923, Flory Jagoda learned many songs from her Nona (grandmother) and other family members, who were known as the "Singing Altaračs." Her original compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by singers and groups in the U.S. and Europe. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6271

Steve Vogel appears at the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Sep. 21, 2013. Speaker Biography: As a reporter on the national staff of The Washington Post, Steve Vogel covers the federal government and the military and veterans. He reported on the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and the building's reconstruction. In 2007, he published "The Pentagon: A History." In "Through the Perilous Fight: Six Weeks That Saved the Nation," Vogel "does a superb job of bringing this woeful tale to life" (The Washington Post), when Rear Adm. George Cockburn steered a small squadron of British naval vessels into the Chesapeake Bay and managed to become "the most hated man in America as he enthusiastically plundered whatever he laid his eyes on." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6142

Groundbreaking singer, songwriter and guitarist Ian MacKaye spoke at the Library of Congress on personal digital archiving and the need to educate creators and users in ways to steward our digital cultural heritage. Speaker Biography: As both performer and producer, MacKaye has documented music coming out of the Washington, D.C. underground for the past 30 years. MacKaye founded Dischord Records as a teenager in 1980 with partner Jeff Nelson. Their original intent was simply to release a single to document their recently defunct band, The Teen Idles. The label has since gone on to release music from more than 60 bands, with more than 160 albums during the past 25 years. In the process, the label performed a citizen-archivist role, documenting Washington-area music in many forms and catalyzing cultural activity and community-building in the nation's capital and around the world. For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5905.

he Okee Dokee Brothers perform at the 2011 National Book Festival. Speaker Biography: As childhood best friends, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing dreamed of being professional singer-songwriters. Then, one day (poof!) they were all grown up and playing their music on the scene. Inspired by their own backyard adventures, the Okee Dokee Brothers perform original music that reminds audiences of their own make-believes and treehouse-pretendings. Their CD, "Take It Outside," and their live shows can transport you to the wilds of Africa, to the tip-top of a gigantic rollercoaster, or down the Mississippi on a homemade raft. For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5379.

Speaker Biography: As a kid, Lisa Yee loved reading, opening brand new boxes of cereal (to get the prize) and riding the teacups at Disneyland. She once shared a prize for cake-decorating, and at Walt Disney World she sometimes got to play Mickey Mouse. But what she likes doing most is writing. Her accolades include the American Library Association's Notable Book Award, a USA Today Critics' Pick, a Best Book of the Year Award from the Chinese American Librarians Association and a Family Choice Award. Her latest book is "Warp Speed." For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5378.

Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer John Adams will read from his autobiography, "Hallelujah Junction." Speaker Biography: As a composer, conductor, and creative thinker, Adams occupies a unique position in the world of classical music. His works, both operatic and symphonic, stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Notable works include the milestone operas "Nixon in China" and "The Death of Klinghoffer." Adams has also received critical acclaim for his creative programming, founding the "In Your Ear" festival at Carnegie Hall, curating festivals and concerts for such prominent musical institutions as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cabrillo Festival, and the BBC Proms concerts, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2003 Adams was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his piece "On the Transmigration of Souls," which commemorated the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. He has been widely honored by leading arts institutions, receiving the Harvard Arts Medal, honorary doctorates by the University of Cambridge and Northwestern University, and more recently, the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors Award.