"Smiley & West" partners up pubcaster and Harvard professor

Public broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Princeton professor Cornel West are co-hosting the new radio show Smiley & West, premiering Oct. 1. The program was announced Sunday (Sept. 26) at the Public Radio Programming Conference in Denver. On the weekly hourlong PRI offering, Smiley and West will talk current affairs, politics and cultural news, especially focusing on stories not covered by the mainstream media. A segment titled "Take 'Em to Task" will let listeners interact with the two. The show concludes with a 30-minute conversation among the co-hosts and celebrities, politicians and other newsmakers. First up: New York Times columnist Frank Rich, and comedian, actor and writer Garry Shandling.

Imagine all the people!

The American Masters presentation of "LENNONYC" will have a free screening on Oct. 9, which would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, in New York City's Central Park. Onstage Sept. 24 to announce the event were New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and Neal Shapiro, c.e.o. of WNET/Thirteen. The screening will be at 7 p.m. (grounds open at 6) at Rumsey Playfield near the 69th Street and Fifth Avenue entrance, rain or shine.“LENNONYC,” written and directed by Michael Epstein and executive produced by Susan Lacy, premiered at the New York Film Festival on Sept. 25 and airs nationally Nov. 22 on PBS. Visit Thirteen.org for more on the Central Park screening.