The Bob Edwards Show, Jane Elliott and Merle Haggard, April 6, 2015

On April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King was killed, a teacher in Riceville, Iowa stepped into her classroom to teach her students a lesson of a lifetime. Jane Elliott conducted a bold experiment on her students, making them understand what discrimination feels like first hand. Some called her technique "evil" and "Orwellian" -- said it abused the children's' trust. Others championed her as a brilliant educator on par with Plato and Aristotle. Almost all of the students involved in the experiment said it strengthened their character. Bob talks to Elliott about why, decades later, her exercise still matters.

On his 78th birthday, Bob talks to country outlaw Merle Haggard about his five decades in the music business and how he hasn’t let himself become a prisoner of success. From doing a 180 on his most famous song, “Okie from Muskogee,” to walking out on Ed Sullivan, to admitting he dyes his hair and wears dentures, Haggard’s life is about refusing to submit. [Broadcast Date: April 6, 2015]