As the Big Muddy Folk Festival enters its 22nd year, we discuss the history of the event and explore efforts to preserve folk music in mid-Missouri. Plus we hear some live folk music performed in our studio.

Panelists:
Cathy Barton, folk musician and co-founder, Big Muddy Folk Festival
Dave Para, folk musician and artistic director and co-founder, Big Muddy Folk Festival

The 10th annual True/False Film Festival kicks off later this week. From its humble beginnings, the festival has grown into a destination event with ticket sales of nearly 40,000 last year. In this conversation, we’ll take a look back at the festival’s history, examine the gains it’s made over the years, and talk about its importance to Columbia.

Panelists:
David Wilson, Co-founder, True/False Film Festival
Paul Sturtz, Co-founder, True/False Film Festival

A set of paintings on display at a gallery in downtown Columbia presents an art history case study of the complex relationships between artists, galleries and the paintings themselves. It also revives an ongoing conversation about the presence of the Midwest in the larger landscape of American painting. In this conversation, you'll hear the story of those paintings on display, along with that larger discussion of how our region continues to find its place in the national and international art world.

Panelists:
Melissa Williams, owner, Melissa Williams Fine Art
Jennifer Perlow, owner, PS Gallery
Joan Stack, curator of art collections, State Historical Society of Missouri
David Houston, former director of curatorial, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark.; and newly appointed director of the Bo Bartlett Center at Columbus State University (joining the program by phone)

Getting a gift for everyone on your list can bring plenty of happiness but also a little frustration. Today we explore the impact and challenges of gift-giving -- not just as a holiday tradition but also as a part of the human condition.

Panelists:
Molly Housh Gordon, minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia
Ken Sheldon, professor, MU Department of Psychology
Karthik Panchanathan, assistant professor, MU Department of Anthropology (joining the program by phone)

More and more of our shared experiences take place in the digital realm, as opposed to in person. So what impact does this have for our overall sense of community? And how might it change the way we go about life in cities and towns?

Panelists:
Toni Messina, civic relations manager, City of Columbia
Tyten Teegarden, mobile application developer
Rich Harwood, founder and president of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation (joining the program by phone)

Of the 250 top-grossing films last year, women accounted for only 5 percent of the directors, according to a recent study. While the numbers have held steady for top behind-the-scenes jobs overall (about one in five are women), the data show a significantly decreasing presence of women as film directors. So what’s going on? In advance of the Citizen Jane Film Festival in Columbia, we explore the challenges women face climbing the ranks in Hollywood and the reasons the film business remains such a male-dominated industry.

Panelists:
Paula Elias, co-director of the Citizen Jane Film Festival
Brenda Chapman, director of the animated films "Brave" and "The Prince of Egypt" (joining the program by phone)

In late August, Columbia resident Shakir Hamoodi began serving a three-year prison sentence for violating trade sanctions against Iraq. We explore the details of his unusual case, along with some of the larger moral and legal issues his situation raises.

Panelists:
Frank Bowman, professor of law, University of Missouri
Whitney Dreier, editor, Inside Columbia magazine
Peter Vallentyne, professor, University of Missouri Department of Philosophy
Tony Flesor, journalist who profiled the case for Inside Columbia magazine (joining the program by phone)

This year's One Read selection, “The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht, has been described as a story about storytelling. As the One Read program gets under way, we take a closer look at the idea of storytelling itself: Why are stories important on an individual and community level? How have our ideas about story changed? And what can we expect to see in the future?

Panelists:
Berkley Hudson, associate professor of journalism, University of Missouri
Michael Porter, associate professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri
Jonathan Gottschall, author of "The Storytelling Animal" (joining the program by phone)

We hear from the author of a new book that retraces the route William Least Heat-Moon took in his bestselling book, Blue Highways. But first, a conversation with MU Provost Brian Foster about the latest developments concerning the University of Missouri Press. Hosted by Rehman Tungekar.

Panelists:
Ed Ailor III, author, "Blue Highways Revisited:
William Least Heat-Moon, author, "Blue Highways"
Brian Foster, provost, University of Missouri-Columbia

With this year's Hot Summer Nights music series now under way, we speak with the artistic director behind the series and explore some ideas orchestras are using to make their performances more family friendly and accessible. We also offer some music performed by members of the Missouri Symphony (scroll down for video clips).

Panelists:
Kirk Trevor, music director and conductor for the Missouri Symphony
Jennifer Barnett, director of education and community partnerships for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (joining us by phone)